Among the most reliable signs of early spring are the clumps of wild green onion that appear across our lawns. Members of the lily family, they are in the Allium genus, which includes chives, leeks, garlics, shallots and onions; numerous subspecies of wild onion are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
Sprouting in late February or March, the long-leafed clumps will, if uncut, eventually support a tall flower stalk; depending upon the species, this stalk yields papery white-pink flowers or a cluster of tiny bulbs. As the summer heat builds, the lawn onions die back until their leaf clumps reappear in September. Over time, this prolific plant can take over much of a suburbanite's precious turf, triggering a long war to control this perennial. For those of us who refuse to spread herbicides across our property, keeping the plants cut back before flowering is probably the best solution.
On the positive side, once cleaned, all portions of the wild green onion are edible and have long been used by native human cultures. The bulbs of this plant, resembling those of day lilies, are much smaller than those of cultivated onions but their pungent odor attests to their close family ties.
