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Eating Wild Onions Good Idea Or Not?

Ask the Expert: fake wild onion?
During an overnight trip on the Smith River, one of our guides picked a wild onion to show us.  However, he said that there was another plant that was very similar but could kill you in 4 hours if ingested. He said it was called “death canis” (I”m not sure of the spelling).  Can you tell me if this is true?

I have all these great wild onions but I’m afraid to eat them. Patricia

Plant Expert Reply:

Meadow Death Camas

Meadow Death Camas

I’m not sure what plant the guide was referring to – Montana has a poisonous plant called Mountain Death-camas (Zigadenus venenosus). The leaves might look like onion leaves but it would really be a stretch. See how flat the leaves are? They look more like a lily leaf than an onion leaf even through they are in the same family. Onion leaves tend look more cylindrical.

Wild Onion

Wild Onion

As for eating the wild onions in your yard, I probably wouldn’t. Not because the plant is poisonous, more because of the taste. The onion genus – Allium has many members. However, not all have a pleasing taste. The wild onion and garlic species tend to be more pungent than the cultivated species.

If your wild onions are in your lawn, you need to be aware of their exposure to chemicals. I am always cautious when it comes to eating wild vegetation. However, all Allium bulbs are edible even if not palatable.

The Meadow Death-camas picture comes from the poisonous plant section of the Montana Plant Life site.

The Wild onion photo came from the Pacific Bulb Society Allium page.

One Man’s Wild Onion Is Another Man’s Allium

Spent Bloom Of Allium - Wild Onion

Spent Bloom Of Allium - Wild Onion

Ask the Expert: Plant Identification
Found this rather odd plant growing in my yard.  To be honest, when it first came up I thought it was wild onions.  It just kept getting taller and taller, however, and because it was growing in an area that wasn’t creating a problem, I let it go to see what it would become.  Eventually it grew to a height well over two feet.  A single green stem extends from the ground and the stem is very woody and strong.  The wild morning glories, in fact, are using them for a trellis.  It developed a ball shaped “bud” at the very top of the stem that looked almost like a spire on old, Russian architecture.  When it bloomed, it looked like one of those crazy cans of peanuts with the spring loaded worm in it.  Here is a picture of it after it bloomed.  Gina

Plant Expert Reply:

First, I love your description.  So many times, people have a hard time describing the plant that needs identification.  With your description, I could have idenitified it immediately without a picture.

What you have is a plant from the Allium genus.  Most of the plants in this genus are some kind of “wild” onion or “wild” garlic and considered undesirable by many.  However, several species are used in English garden or herb gardens.  Without a picture of the bloom, it is hard to determine which species you have.  If  I had to guess by height and look of stem only, it would be  Allium caeruleum, Allium cristophii, Allium x hollandicum, Allium nigrum, Allium paniculatum, Allium roseum, Allium schoenoprasum, Allium sensecens, or Allium sphaerocephalon.

If you didn’t plant it specifically, I would recommend pulling it up and getting rid of it.  The seed will sprout all over the place. If you like the look of the plant and want to keep it,  you can keep it contained with a little maintenance.