Allium tuberosum is a species of onion native to southwestern parts of the Chinese province of Shanxi, and cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in Asia and around the world. The plant looks like an onion chive but tastes more like garlic.
Its scientific name of Allium tuberosum is indicative of its oniony roots and falls among the family Liliaceae. Unlike onions or other types of garlic, however, the fibrous bulb is not edible but is grown rather for its flowers and stems. It is easy to differentiate between onion chives and garlic chives. Garlic chives have a flat, grass-like leaf, not a hollow one as do onion chives. They grow between 12 to 15 inches tall. Garlic chives make a lovely flower in a border or container plant, and work well in the herb garden. They can be planted along a path or as a dense ground cover too. The small, star-shaped flowers are usually cream colored and born on sturdy stems in June. The flowers can be eaten or dried and made into floral arrangements. The seed heads are also often used in everlasting arrangements or can be allowed to remain and drop seeds for continual reseeding.
