Allium thunbergii explained

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Allium thunbergii, Thunberg's chive^[1] or Thunberg garlic, is an East Asian species of wild onion native to Japan (incl Bonin + Ryukyu Islands), Korea, and China (incl. Taiwan).^[2] 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.^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

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.^{[3] [4] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

The specific epithet thunbergii references the Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg.^[12]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[13]

Varieties^[2]

• 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

Bibliography

• Choi. Hyeok JAE. Oh. Byoung UN. A partial revision of Allium (Amaryllidaceae) in Korea and north-eastern China. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. October 2011. 167. 2. 153–211. 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2011.01166.x. free.

Notes and References

1. Book: Korea National Arboretum . English Names for Korean Native Plants . National Arboretum . 2015 . 978-89-97450-98-5 . Pocheon . 348 . 27 November 2016 . Korea Forest Service . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf . 25 May 2017 .
2. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=296796 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
3. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027543 Flora of China v 24 p 197, Allium thunbergii
4. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=240001061 Flora of China v 24 p 179, Allium stenodon
5. Ohwi, J. (1984). Flora of Japan (in English): 1-1067. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
6. 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.
7. Don, George. 1827. Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society 6: 84.
8. Nakai, Takenoshin & Kitagawa, Masao. 1934. Report of the First Scientific Expedition to Manchoukou 4(1): 18, pl. 6., as Allium stenodon
9. Liu, Tang Shui & Ying, Shao Shun. 1978. Flora of Taiwan 5: 45
10. P.P.Gritsenko. 1979. Byull. Vses. Ord. Lenina Inst. Rast. N.I. Vavilova 96: 23
11. http://www.tropicos.org/Image/48436 line drawing of Allium thunbergii, Flora of China Illustrations vol. 24, fig. 221, 1–4
12. Book: Harrison , Lorraine . RHS Latin for Gardeners. 2012. Mitchell Beazley. United Kingdom. 978-1845337315.
13. Web site: Allium thunbergii. Royal Horticultural Society . 2002 . 5 January 2018.