There may be a chili in the photograph which goes along with the NY Times piece on Gary Nabhan’s new book “Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail,” but I have it from a reliable authority ((Thanks, Colin.)) that most of the plants are i’itoi onions. Which have a fascinating story of their own.
Its journey to the Southwest began in the late 1600’s when Jesuit missionaries coming from Spain shepherded the onion across the ocean. It adapted wonderfully to the arid environment and was soon a valuable food source and also used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. The first harvest was completed on the soil rich “bajadas” or slopes of the Baboquivari Mountain. This mountain was considered the birthplace of the Hohokam people, the ancestors of today’s Tohono O’odham (The Desert People). I’itoi,or Elder Brother, was the creator of the desert people and still resides watching over his people high up in the mountain in a cave where few can ever visit.