Ostensible Origin of the Name: Allium is the ancient Latin name for garlic. Cernuum means drooping or nodding.

Common Names: Nodding Onion, Lady’s Leek

Range: Widely spread across the US and Canada and down into Mexico.

Pollination: Small short tongued native bees, such as Halictid bees, on foraging expeditions; fluttering by butterflies. In an apparent evolutionary adaptation, the nodding habit of the flowers favors bees, which unlike many other insects, are adapted to sipping nectar or pollen in a prone position. Continue reading →