Allium thunbergii

Allium thunbergii, Thunberg's chive[2] or Thunberg garlic,[3] is an East Asian species of wild onion native to Japan (incl Bonin + Ryukyu Islands), Korea, and China (incl. Taiwan).[4] It grows at elevations up to 3000 m. The Flora of China recognizes A. tunbergii and A. stenodon as separate species, but more recent sources combine the two.[1][5][6][7][8][9]

Allium thunbergii
Allium thunbergii 'Ozawa' in the garden of botanist Robert R. Kowal, Madison, Wisconsin
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Species:	A. thunbergii
Binomial name
Allium thunbergii G. Don
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy Allium arenarium Thunb. Allium bakeri var. morrisonense (Hayata) T.S.Liu & S.S.Ying Allium bakeri var. morrisonense (Hayata) Tang S. Liu & S.S. Ying Allium cyaneum f. stenodon (Nakai & Kitag.) Kitag. Allium cyaneum var. stenodon (Nakai & Kitag.) Kitag. Allium japonicum Steud. Allium morrisonense Hayata Allium nerinifolium Baker Allium odorum Thunb. 1784, illegitimate homonym not L. 1767 Allium plurifoliatum var. stenodon (Nakai & Kitag.) J.M.Xu Allium pseudocyaneum Grüning Allium sacculiferum var. glaucum P.P.Gritz. Allium sacculiferum var. robustum P.P.Gritz. Allium senescens Thunb. Allium stenodon Nakai & Kitag. Allium triquetrum Lour. Allium yamarakyo Honda

Allium thunbergii produces one or two egg-shaped bulbs up to 20 mm in diameter. Scapes are up to 50 cm tall. Leaves are longer than the scape, hollow, triangular in cross-section. Umbels are crowded with many red or purple flowers.[5][6][10][11][12][13][14]

The specific epithet thunbergii references the Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg.[15]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[3]

Varieties[4]

• Allium thunbergii var. deltoides (S.O.Yu, S.Lee & W.T.Lee) H.J.Choi & B.U.Oh - Gayasan National Park in Korea
• Allium thunbergii var. teretifolium H.J.Choi & B.U.Oh - Korea
• Allium thunbergii var. thunbergii - China, Japan, Korea

References

1. The Plant List
2. Korea National Arboretum (2015). English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: National Arboretum. p. 348. ISBN 978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via Korea Forest Service.
3. "Allium thunbergii". Royal Horticultural Society. 2002. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
4. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
5. Flora of China v 24 p 197, Allium thunbergii
6. Flora of China v 24 p 179, Allium stenodon
7. Ohwi, J. (1984). Flora of Japan (in English): 1-1067. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C..
8. Kobayashi, S. & Ono, M. (1987). A Revised List of Vascular Plants Indigenous and Introduced to the Bonin (Ogasawara) and the Volcano (Kazan) Islands. Ogasawara Research 13: 1-55.
9. Choi & Oh 2011.
10. Don, George. 1827. Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society 6: 84.
11. Nakai, Takenoshin & Kitagawa, Masao. 1934. Report of the First Scientific Expedition to Manchoukou 4(1): 18, pl. 6., as Allium stenodon
12. Liu, Tang Shui & Ying, Shao Shun. 1978. Flora of Taiwan 5: 45
13. P.P.Gritsenko. 1979. Byull. Vses. Ord. Lenina Inst. Rast. N.I. Vavilova 96: 23
14. line drawing of Allium thunbergii, Flora of China Illustrations vol. 24, fig. 221, 1-4
15. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-1845337315.

Bibliography

• Choi, Hyeok JAE; Oh, Byoung UN (October 2011). "A partial revision of Allium (Amaryllidaceae) in Korea and north-eastern China". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 167 (2): 153–211. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2011.01166.x.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)