Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Bird foodPollinator plant
(c) Jason Sturner, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Growing it
| When | Flowers June to August |
|---|---|
| Type | wildflower |
| Sun | Full sun, partial shade |
| Water | Low |
| Soil | pH 5.5–7.5 |
| Hardiness | zone 3–7 |
| Mature height | 0.4 m |
| Mature spread | 0.225 m |
| Spacing | 0.15 m |
| Years to maturity | 2 |
| Bloom | Jun–Aug |
| Flower colour | Pink not verified, a genus-level estimate |
| In bloom | June July August |
| Native to | AB, SK |
narrow linear leaves about 25 cm long
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Northern Continental Divide south AB: 447 records, high confidence
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 221 records, high confidence
- Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 140 records, high confidence
- Fescue Grassland south AB: 128 records, high confidence
- Western Alberta Upland central AB: 53 records, high confidence
- Peace Lowland north AB: 40 records, high confidence
- Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 32 records, high confidence
- Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 26 records, high confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 19 records, medium confidence
- Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 14 records, medium confidence
These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.
See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.
Documented animals
61 documented relationships.
nectar for
- A Digger Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- A Leafcutter Bee LaManna et al. 2020
- Allograpta obliqua Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- American Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Anthidium mormonum LaManna et al. 2020
- Anthidium utahense LaManna et al. 2020
- Bear-like Digger Bee LaManna et al. 2020
- Brown-belted Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Brown-tailed Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Central Bumble Bee LaManna et al. 2020
- Colletes kincaidii LaManna et al. 2020
- Common Checkered-Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Eastern Calligrapher Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Eastern Tailed-Blue Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Eupeodes snowi LaManna et al. 2020
- Eupeodes volucris LaManna et al. 2020
- Frigid Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Golden Northern Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Goldenrod Soldier Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Half-black Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Halictus confusus LaManna et al. 2020
- Halictus tripartitus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- Heriades carinata LaManna et al. 2020
- Heriades cressoni LaManna et al. 2020
- Heriades variolosa LaManna et al. 2020
- Hoplitis truncata LaManna et al. 2020
- Hunt's Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Lapposyrphus lapponicus LaManna et al. 2020
- Lasioglossum aff.nevadense LaManna et al. 2020
- Lasioglossum albipenne LaManna et al. 2020
- Lasioglossum marinense LaManna et al. 2020
- Lasioglossum nevadense Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- Lasioglossum occidentale LaManna et al. 2020
- Megachile centuncularis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Melissa Blue LaManna et al. 2020
- Melissodes bimaculatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Monarch Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Orange-legged Furrow Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- Osmia juxta LaManna et al. 2020
- Red-belted Bumble Bee LaManna et al. 2020
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Silver-spotted Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Tawny-edged Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Two-ranked Bumble Bee LaManna et al. 2020
- Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org
pollen for
- Black-tailed Bumble Bee Clements & F. L. Long 1923
- Colletes fulgidus Guzman et al. 2022
- Colletes kincaidii Guzman et al. 2022
- Eupeodes latifasciatus Guzman et al. 2022
- Lasioglossum athabascense Guzman et al. 2022
- Lasioglossum colatum Guzman et al. 2022
- Lasioglossum cressonii Guzman et al. 2022
- Lasioglossum nevadense Guzman et al. 2022
- Megachile nivalis Guzman et al. 2022
- Orange-legged Furrow Bee Guzman et al. 2022
- Osmia pusilla Guzman et al. 2022
- Osmia tristella Guzman et al. 2022
- Parnassius smintheus Clements & F. L. Long 1923
- Two-ranked Bumble Bee Guzman et al. 2022
- Western Bumble Bee Clements & F. L. Long 1923
- Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee Guzman et al. 2022
Also worth knowing
Safety
Low toxicity to pets
Edible parts
Bulb, leaves, flowers
Buying it
About $8–$16 per plant (estimate), usually from a native-plant nursery. Estimate (herb default); AB retail as of 2026
Where these numbers came from
- Flower detail: not verified, a genus-level estimate