Allium auriculatum

Kunth

Kunth onion

AmaryllidaceaeSpice/Beverage
Allium auriculatum
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The New York Botanical Garden
Allium auriculatum
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Conveyor Belt

What to Eat

Edible parts: Spice, Flavouring

It is used as a food flavouring, with both bulbs and leaves as spice.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows on rocky slopes between 3,350-5,480 m above sea level in the Himalayas.

Asia, Himalayas, India, Nepal,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

An onion family herb. It grows 12-35 cm tall. The bulbs are cylinder shaped and 5-8 cm long by 1-1.5 cm wide. There are 3 or 4 leaves arising from the base of the stem. The leaves are narrow ad 12-20 cm long by 0.3-0.5 cm wide. The flowering groups are in a half circle and 1.5-2.5 cm wide.

Production

Flowering and fruiting occurs July to September.

References (4)
  • Encyclopedia of Life.
  • Pande, K. M., et al, 2015, Identification and Comparison of Volatile Constituents of Himalayan Phytofood; Allium auriculatum Kunth and its Antimicrobial Activity. International Journal of Life Sciences Vol. 4. No. 3. 2015. Pp.168-172
  • Wiersema, J. H. & Leon, B., 2013, World Economic Plants. A Standard Reference CRC Press. 2nd Ed. p 33
  • World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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