Asparagus Family – Asparagaceae

Fool’s Onion is also called Harvest Lily, White Hyacinth, or White Triteleia. Former Latin name was Brodiaea hyacinthina

Plant Description: Fool’s Onion has a flowering stem that is 8 to 24 inches  tall, leafless, with an umbel of showy, tightly packed flowers at the top. The grass-like leaves are usually not withered at time of flowering.

Flower Description: The flower is .5 inch long, bell-shaped with 6 white, flared tepals with a green mid-vein. The 6 fertile stamen are wide at the bottom, forming an “inner flower” around the pistil.

Ecology: Fool’s Onion grows in moist meadows at low to middle elevations.

Notes:

• Fool’s Onion has been moved from the Lily Family to the Asparagus Family.  See “APG Changes” page.
• Fool’s Onion is not an onion and lacks the onion scent.

 

Fool’s Onion Photo Gallery