A few bulbs of this charming plant were sent from California to the Horticultural Society, by Mr. Hartweg, and flowered last spring in the Chiswick Garden, in a greenhouse. It is, however, in all probability, hardy, if kept in a place dry in winter. The name onion conveys to an English ear ideas of anything but beauty, for many common species are as ugly as plants well can be, and the handsome kinds are almost unknown in gardens. Nevertheless, in a genus consisting of nearly a couple of hundred species, many may be found which ought to take rank with hyacinths and jonquils; of these, the moly and the magical onion are well-known examples, though now-a-days confined to curious collections; and the rare species here figured is another, much handsomer than either, and probably the queen of the family. Its gay flowers, almost transparent when colorless, and stained with the richest rose color near the points, can scarcely be regarded as inferior in beauty to the Guernsey lily itself, and they are far less fugitive. Were it permitted to suppose that a plant so similar to onions in most respects could form a separate genus, one would be tempted to place this apart, for it wants their smell, and is most remarkable for its petals being considerably smaller than the sepals.

But no other difference being perceptible, we must believe it to belong to the group of which allium roseum forms one. At first sight it would seem to differ from the acuminate allium described by Sir W. Hooker, in life "Flora-BoDomestic Notices.