Wild onion?

[awarner]

I have been asked if I could identify this bulb which keep appearing in a friends front garden. From the description, every spring they produce slender leaves but no flower has ever been spotted. Also when you crush the bulb it gives off a strong onion smell, they tens to be shallow in the ground so just going over the soil you uncover them.
My first thought is wild onion from what I have read elsewhere.

The 20p in the photo is to give a size comparison.

 

[Drain Bamaged]

I would suggest that a picture of the full plant might be more useful and safer with regards to ID'ing it, especially if there is a temptation to try eating them. Might even be worth sticking them two bulbs into a pot and growing them on to see what comes up.

DB

 

[awarner]

That's my intention to plant them.
Not tempted to try eating them but hopefully I can get some pictures of the grown plant next year as all I was given were the bulbs.

 

[OldJimbo]

Over here the main "look alike for the wild onion is death camas, but those have no onion smell. I'm still here after eating wild onions so I guess the distinction is true. As has been said, more detail is required for an ID.

 

[Robson Valley]

It is standard practice in botanical taxonomy to identify plants based on floral anatomy.
Some vegetative characters may be of outstanding assistance BUT not always.
Plants the bulbs, research both the probable and possible flower appearances and anatomy.
As toxic as some plants are, to do less is foolish.

 

[Blundstoned Love]

In a garden setting my first instinct would be that it is an ornamental allium - and there are loads.

Some of them are edible - I don't know if they all are. Probably, would be my guess - and that is a guess.

I have some in my garden that have bulbs about that size, but as has been said you need to get them to flower to get a positive ID.

Bulbs are notorious for not flowering when they get congested, so growing the two you have, either marked in your garden, or in pots should mean you get flowers in one season.

 

[Geoff Dann]

In a garden setting my first instinct would be that it is an ornamental allium - and there are loads.

Some of them are edible - I don't know if they all are. Probably, would be my guess - and that is a guess.

None are poisonous to humans, but quite a few of them taste bad enough that you would not want to eat them.

Several of them are seriously toxic to dogs and cats.