Allium chinense

{{Short description|Species of Allium}} {{about|a plant with the Japanese name ''rakkyō''|the film series|Kara no Kyōkai}} {{Speciesbox |name=Chinese onion | image_caption= | image = Allium chinense1.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Brummitt, N. |date=2013 |title=''Allium chinense'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T44392537A44396666 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T44392537A44396666.en |access-date=18 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Allium chinense | parent = Allium subg. Cepa | authority = G.Don.<ref name="WCSP_295288">{{Cite web |title=''Allium chinense'' |work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=295288 |access-date=2013-05-28}}</ref> |synonyms_ref = <ref name=WCSP_295288/> |synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |title=Synonymy |''Allium bakeri'' Regel |''Allium bodinieri'' H.Lév. & Vaniot |''Allium exsertum'' Baker 1874, illegitimate homonym not G. Don 1827 |''Allium martini'' H.Lév. & Vaniot |''Allium splendens'' Miq. 1867, illegitimate homonym not Willd. 1830 |''Caloscordum exsertum'' Herb. }} }}

'''''Allium chinense''''' (also known as '''Chinese onion''',<ref name="grin" /><ref name="MMPND">Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database: [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Allium.html#dic8.0 Allium.] University of Melbourne. Updated 3 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2014.</ref> '''Chinese scallion''',<ref name="grin" /> '''glittering chive''',<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |title=English Names for Korean Native Plants |publisher=Korea National Arboretum |year=2015 |isbn=978-89-97450-98-5 |location=Pocheon |page=347 |access-date=17 December 2016 |via=Korea Forest Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 }}</ref> '''Japanese scallion''',<ref name="grin" /> '''Kiangsi scallion''',<ref name="MMPND" /> and '''Oriental onion'''<ref name="grin" />) is an edible species of ''Allium'', native to China,<ref name="grin" /> and cultivated in many other countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Allium chinense in Flora of China @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027461 |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=www.efloras.org}}</ref> Its close relatives include the onion, scallion, leek, chive, and garlic.<ref name=Block2010>{{cite book|author=Block, E.|title=Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AB89RHV9ucC|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|year=2010|isbn=978-0-85404-190-9}}</ref>

==Distribution== thumb|left|Flowers of ''Allium chinense'' ''Allium chinense'' is native to China (in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces).<ref name="grin" /> It is naturalized in other parts of Asia as well as in North America.<ref name=grin/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Allium chinense Rakkyo PFAF Plant Database|url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Allium+chinense|access-date=2021-11-10|website=pfaf.org}}</ref><ref>{{PLANTS|symbol=ALCH5|taxon=Allium chinense|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref> {{-|left}} ==Uses== ===Culinary=== [[File:SZ 深圳 Shenzhen 寶安 BaoAn 橋和路 Qiaohe Road 寶安東海百貨 Donghai Department Store 商場 mall 生活超市 SuperLife Supermarket cooked food August 2023 Px3 06.jpg|thumb|left|Sold at a market in Shenzhen (left)]] Owing to its very mild and "fresh" taste, ''A. chinense'' is often pickled and served as a side dish in Japan and Vietnam to balance the stronger flavor of some other component in a meal. For example, in Japanese cuisine, it is eaten as a garnish on Japanese curry.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|date=2007-02-06|title=Japanese beef curry (Curry Rice)|url=https://justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-10|website=JustHungry|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208004023/http://www.justhungry.com:80/japanese-beef-curry |archive-date=2007-02-08 }}</ref>

In Vietnam, pickled ''A. chinense'', known as ''củ kiệu'', is often served during Tết (Lunar New Year).{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

In Japanese, it is known as {{Nihongo|''rakkyō''|辣韮 or 薤}}. Glass bottles of white ''rakkyō'' bulb pickles are sold in Asian supermarkets in North America.<ref>{{cite web|title=Niitakaya Rakkyo |website=Asia Mart, Santa Rosa|url-status=live |url=https://asiamartsr.com/products/niitakaya-rakkyo-pickled-scallion|access-date=2023-06-24|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202222336/https://asiamartsr.com/products/niitakaya-rakkyo-pickled-scallion}}</ref>

===Medicinal=== ''Allium chinense'' is used as a folk medicine in tonics to help the intestines, and as a stomachic.<ref name=jad>{{cite web|author=James A. Duke |title=''Allium chinense'' (LILIACEAE) |publisher=Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases |url=https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/ethnobotanical-plant-allium-chinense |access-date=2017-12-15}}</ref>

==See also== *{{annotated link|Allium tuberosum|''Allium tuberosum''|aka=garlic chives}} *{{annotated link|Pickled onion}} {{-}} ==References== {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=grin>{{GRIN | access-date = 2017-12-15}}</ref> }}

==External links== {{Commons}} * [http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=52213 Botanical drawing of ''Allium chinense'' at Tropicos.org] * {{PFAF|Allium chinense}} * {{PFAF|Allium splendens}}

chinense Category:Asian vegetables Category:Chinese pickles Category:Crops originating from China Category:Edible plants Category:Garden plants Category:Japanese pickles Category:Onions Category:Vegetables Category:Vietnamese vegetables