Herb. No. 104 · Amaryllidaceae
Circumboreal allium of northern meadows — Europe, Asia, and North America share the wild plant.
Native · Europe · North America · East Asia
Native Also grownNow a garden plant worldwide
LegalGentleplant
Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
Medicinal herbsKitchenHarvestCompanions
The mildest kitchen onion — a perennial snip for eggs, and a gentler cousin of garlic’s folklore.
Chives are a circumboreal allium grown as a clump you never have to resow. Food amounts are the daily form. Traditional European use treats the hollow leaf as a mild digestive and circulatory green, not a drug. The purple pompoms are edible. Do not confuse a wild allium you cannot name with this garden plant.
Flavor
Green onion, grass, a little garlic on the finish. Flowers are milder and faintly sweet.
Parts used
Leaf · Flower
Helpful
- Perennial clump
- Harvest in minutes
Cautions
- Cooking kills the top note
- Wild alliums can fool you