Twistedleaf garlic, Oblique onion
Allium obliquum

Family: Amaryllidaceae

What it is like

An onion family plant. A bulb plant. It grows to 60 cm high. It has a single bulb. The bulbs are 2-3 cm across. The covering is pale brown. It is hard and leathery. The leaves are broad and straight. They are 5-20 mm wide. The scape is 60-100 cm and covered with leaf sheaths for about /12 the length. The flower head is round and has many flowers.

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 cool temperate plant. It grows naturally in meadows and wooded slopes in Siberia. It prefers a sunny position and a light well drained soil. It can grow in damp acid soils. In grows in N China.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Central Asia, China, Europe, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, Siberia, Slovenia, Tasmania, Turkestan, Uzbekistan

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.

Cultivated for its edible bulb in Siberia.

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

Gao ting jiu, Nesimetrični luk, Turkesztani hagyma

Synonyms

Allium exaltatum Kar. & Kir. ex Ledeb. [Invalid]; Allium luteum F. Dietr.; Cepa obliqua (L.) Moench; and others