When onions are permitted to seed, this is the result. This species is native to Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and is rare in cultivation (the UBC Alpine Garden is one of the few places it can be seen). The genus Allium contains approximately 1250 different species, including the wild progenitors of culinary requisites such as garlic, leeks and chives.

Photography resource links: Although I didn't use them for this photograph, nearly half of the images I take for Botany Photo of the Day utilize reflectors. What difference does it make? View the articles Using Reflectors and Diffusers for Macro Photography and All Day Macro Photography to see comparisons of photographs with and without reflectors. Both articles are written by Jim Erhardt of Nature Photographers Online Magazine.