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Cuthbert's Onion

Allium cuthbertii (AL-ee-um kuth-BERT-ee-eye)

Family: Amaryllidaceae Native Herbaceous

Cuthbert's onion is a perennial bulb in the lily family (Amaryllidaceae) native to SC, AL, FL and GA and found in longleaf pine sandhills. Piedmont and rocky outcroppings. The Genus name is Latin for garlic. Cuthbert's Onion is more heat-tolerant than nodding onion and grows in poor and rocky soils or soils with good drainage in full sun to partial shade. It blooms in May-June with clusters of white, pink or lavender flowers and then dies down in the summer. It can be identified by the bulb that has cross-hatch fibrous scales and the flowers that have a crested ovary and capsule. This bulb is not generally found for sale. The plant could be used in small groups, naturalized areas, rock gardens and borders. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. Bulb rot can occur in wet soils. VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Edibles, Bulbs, and Houseplants," a plant identification course developed in partnership with Longwood Gardens.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 56 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Often confused with Allium canadense

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Bulb; Native Plant; Perennial
Life cycle
Bulb; Perennial
USDA zones
7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Sheath; Simple
Leaf arrangement
Rosulate
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Dentate; Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
4-13 inch long grass-like leaves with entire or dentate margins.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender; White
Flower form
Umbel
Flower shape
Star
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
White, pink, and purple flowers bloom from May to June in clusters of 10-25 star-shaped blooms that have a crested ovary and capsule
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Black
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
The fruit is a capsule with shiny seeds from June to July.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Solitary, erect, green stems that are round to angled
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
SE USA
Distribution
SC, AL, GA, FL
Wildlife value
Flowers attract pollinators.
Attracts
Bees; Hummingbirds; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn; Naturalized Area; Small Space
Landscape theme
Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden
Design feature
Small groups
Garden tags
#NC native #native bulb #food source bulbs #food source herbage #food source nectar #food source pollen #food source summer #bird friendly #pollinator plant #summer bulbs #spring flowering bulbs #Audubon #food source hard mast fruit #th-touch #th-sowing #th-wildlife #th-taste #th-smell
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Bulb Mites

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.