Chinese Chives, Tartar scallion
Allium ledebourianum

Family: Amaryllidaceae

What it is like

An onion family plant. A bulb plant. It grows to 60 cm high. The small bulbs are formed in clusters on the rhizome and are about 1-2 cm across. The covering is greyish violet or greyish black. There are 1 or 2 leaves. They are 5-7 mm wide. The leaves are hollow. The scape is 70-80 cm long. The flowers are violet. They occur in a group in a head.

There are about 300-700 Allium species. Most species of Allium are edible (Flora of China). All alliums are edible but they may not all be worth eating! They have also been put in the family Alliaceae.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows naturally in meadows and river valleys in Siberia. It prefers a sunny position and a light well drained soil. In China it grows in moist meadows between 100-1800 m altitude in N China. It grows in Inner Mongolia.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Central Asia, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Siberia

How it is used for food

The bulbs are eaten raw or cooked. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked. The flowers are used raw to flavour salads.

Cultivated for its edible leaves and bulb in Japan.

Edible parts

Flowers, leaves, root, bulb

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed or by dividing the clumps.

Its other names

Local names

Asatsuki, Ledebour onion, Siu yuk, Xiao cong, Xira songgin, Ying pi cong

Synonyms

Allium schoenoprasum foliosum; Allium uliginosum Ledeb.(1830) not G.Don(1827);