Download Allium - Denver Botanic Gardens

Allium--Garlic, onions, leeks, and chives are members of this genus
Two decorative species at DBG are listed
Scientific Name: Allium karataviense
Common Name: Turkestan Onion
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Allium christophii
(Star Of Persia; Persian Onion)
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Native: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
DBG Location: Rock Alpine Garden, Plant
Asia, Water Smart Garden
Description: This ornamental onion displays
globose clusters, 4 inches in diameter of
pink to beige florets. The blue-green leaves
are wide and tongue-shaped.
Native: Iran, Turkey, Turkmenistan
DBG locations: Water Smart, Shady Lane,
Rock Alpine
These bulbs have very large, purple, globose
clusters, up to 12 inches in diameter of starshaped florets, on 12-16 inches tall stems.
Flowering time: late spring
Flowering time: late May
Connection to Steppe: indigenous to steppe in Asia and Europe
Ethnobotanical information: Several species of allium had early origins in the Near East
and well-preserved remains have been found in tombs in Egypt.1 Allium species are among
the oldest cultivated crops. Diverse representations in Egyptian artifacts dating to 2700 B.C
suggest that onions had been cultivated and in wide use by that time 2 The present species,
A. cepa (common onion) appears to have been domesticated from wild ancestors in the
Central Asian mountains. 3
Onions were originally native to central Asia, but today have a worldwide geographic range.
They made their way to Egypt via trade, where they became a crucial food plant in the
ancient world. Because onions were a cheap source of food, Egyptian slave laborers, those
who constructed the pyramids, consumed them on a daily basis.4 In addition, they were
1
Heiser, Charles B.,Seed to Civilization, 1990 Harvard University Press
Fritsch, R.M., and N. Friesen. 2002. "Chapter 1: Evolution, Domestication, and Taxonomy." In H.D. Rabinowitch and L. Currah, eds. Allium Crop
Science: Recent Advances.
2
3
(Brewster 1994 Crop production science in horticulture, Volume 15: Onions and other vegetable Alliums. Wallingford, Oxon, Great Britain
4
Platt, Ellen Spector. Garlic, Onion, & Other Alliums. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.
depicted in the funerary paintings in tombs and even placed on and around mummies.5
Ancient Sumerians widely grew and cooked onions 4,000 years ago, and the plant has been
discovered at the royal palace at Knossos in Crete. 6 Additionally, the ancient Greek
physician Hippocrates wrote in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. that a broad variety of
onions were eaten regularly in Greece.7
Interesting notes:





5
The name "Allium" is said to come from the Greek word to avoid because of its
offensive smell.
The genus Allium includes more than 800 species of which only a few have been
cultivated as foods.
Many of the other members of this genus are popular with gardeners as easy to
maintain perennials, although the smell of some members of the genus can be offputting. The smell is a consequence of breakdown of sulfur-containing compounds
which is a characteristic of this family of plants.
Allium occupy a unique position both as edible plants and herbal medicines,
appreciated since the dawn of civilization. Onions have been shown to improve
cardiovascular and blood sugar lowering abilities beneficial to gastrointestinal health.
Alliums have been featured through the ages in literature, as well as in architecture
and the decorative arts. Onions are the subject of Renoir and Van Gogh paintings.
Russian Orthodox architecture includes an “onion dome” and the domes are included
in many buildings in Europe. 8
Platt. 30
Estes, J.W. “Staple Foods: Domesticated Plants and Animals: Onion.” The Cambridge World History of Food. Ed. Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild
Conee Omelas: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 250.
6
7
Estes. 250.
8
Block, Eric, Garlic and Other Alliums, the Lore and Science, RSC Publishing, 2010