Korean wild chive
Allium monanthum

Family: Amaryllidaceae

What it is like

An onion family plant. A bulb plant. It grows to 10 cm high. The bulb occurs singly and is 0.5-1 cm across. It has a yellowish brown covering. This is sometimes tinged with red. There are 1 or 2 leaves and these are broadly linear. They are 1.5-2 times as long as the scape and 3-8 mm wide. They are flat on one side. They are almost a half circle when cut through. The scape is 5-10 cm long. It is covered with leaf sheaths only at the base.

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 on low mountains all over Japan. It grows in forests and on slopes in N China.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Russia

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.

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

Dallae-i, Dallongkae, Dalrae, Dan hua xie

Synonyms

Allium monanthum var. floribundum Z.J. Zhong & X T. Huang;