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Allium canadense

L.

Meadow Onion

G5Secure Found in 7 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149285
Element CodePMLIL020F0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderAsparagales
FamilyAmaryllidaceae
GenusAllium
Other Common Names
Ail du Canada (FR) Canada Garlic (EN) meadow garlic (EN) Meadow Garlic (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
This record is for the broad treatment of Allium canadense recognized in Kartesz (1994, 1999) and FNA (2002, vol. 26) which include var. canadense, var. ecristatum, var. fraseri, var. hyacinthoides, var. lavandulare, and var. mobilense. Weakley et al. (2023) recognize a much narrower treatment, with var. canadense of Kartesz (1999) and FNA (2002) equivalent to their narrow treatment of A. canadense.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-10-10
Change Date1984-02-09
Edition Date2024-10-10
Edition AuthorsJohnson, J. (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Allium canadense is a perennial herb that is found broadly across the the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Potential threats to this species include development, road maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. With a large range extent, more than 1000 occurrences, abundant habitat, and broad habitat preferences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Allium canadense is native to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada (FNA 2002). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, there are estimated to be more than 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Allium canadense is potentially threatened by development, road maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and affinity for typically abundant habitats, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Allium canadense grows in deciduous or mixed evergreen-deciduous forests, forest edges, riparian forests, river banks, roadsides, meadows, and fields (FNA 2002, Native Plant Trust 2024).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest EdgeGrassland/herbaceousOld field
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ArkansasSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
DelawareS4Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
KansasSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
KentuckySNRYes
OhioS5Yes
North DakotaS1Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
IndianaS5Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
South CarolinaS5Yes
MissouriSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
VermontS1Yes
North CarolinaS5Yes
IllinoisS5Yes
New YorkS5Yes
MaineS2Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
MississippiSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS5Yes
New BrunswickS1Yes
QuebecSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undeterminedUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (7)
Arkansas (3)
AreaForestAcres
Clifty CanyonOzark-St. Francis National Forest1,963
Indian CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,855
Little BlakelyOuachita National Forest3,342
Illinois (1)
AreaForestAcres
Burke BranchShawnee National Forest6,231
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Stone MountainCherokee National Forest5,367
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
References (8)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 26. Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxvi + 723 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  6. Native Plant Trust. 2024. Go Botany website. Online. Available: https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org (accessed 2024).
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  8. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 14, 2023. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2105 pp.