Tapertip Onion (Allium acuminatum), or Hooker’s Onion, is found across diverse habitats in North America. It has a wide native range that spans from British Columbia to California and east to Wyoming. In its natural habitat, it can often be found growing in meadows, rocky slopes, open woods, dry grasslands, and coastal bluffs. The showy clusters of bright pink flowers form atop sturdy stalks, just as the slender, grass-like foliage is drying out with the coming of summer. 
 
The brilliant little flowers bloom from late spring through early summer and provide a valuable source of seasonal nectar for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other native insects. Small mammals such as ground squirrels and chipmunks often consume the onion bulbs, and the flowers and green seed pods serve as a food source for deer, elk, and other browsing animals. 
 
Tapertip Onion has significant historical use as food by Native peoples. The consumption of these bulbs played a significant cultural and dietary role and contributed to the sustainable management of plant populations. The bulbs can be eaten cooked or raw and can be compared to a very mild pearl onion, with a bright, sweet onion flavor and juicy crunch that is surprisingly refreshing when eaten raw. Dense colonies of wild Tapertip Onion can persist for centuries unaided in extremely dry habitats, making it (like other native onions) worthy of serious appreciation as a highly adaptable food security crop. 
 
Allium acuminatum prefers drier, well-drained soils and thrives in a wide range of soil types, including loamy, sandy, and rocky. Seeds can be surface sown in bulbs trays or in place in early spring, or from fall to late winter, and lightly covered with sand or fine soil. Seedlings benefit from some frost protection their first winter. Bulbs will be large enough to handle by early spring in their 2nd year. Mature plants require dry dormancy through summer and should only be watered once or twice per month until fall rains. With proper conditions and care, Tapertip Onion will establish itself and form perennial clumps, continuing to bloom and grace the landscape for years to come.