Allium ramosum L.

Wild Garlic Chives Amaryllidaceae

A rather choice and underused edible allium from the grasslands and open habitats of Central Asia eastwards across Siberia to the Russian Far East. It forms clumps of narrow, flat, bright green leaves, from which rise branching flowering stems carrying numerous small, fragrant white flowers in loose umbels. The overall effect is more airy and naturalistic than the familiar garlic chives, with the branching habit reflected in the name ramosum, meaning ‘branched’.

This is one of those useful plants that manages to be both ornamental and genuinely edible. The leaves have a pleasantly garlicky flavour and are traditionally gathered as a vegetable in northern China and Mongolia, where they may be salted or preserved for winter use and added to dumplings and meat dishes. The flower buds and flowers are also edible. In other words, an onion that has clearly been taking its culinary responsibilities seriously.

Distribution: Central Asia through northern China, Mongolia and Siberia to the Russian Far East, including parts of Kazakhstan, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Amur, Primorye, Sakhalin and Yakutia. It is a plant of temperate grasslands and open habitats rather than a woodland species. 

Nomenclature: Described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in Species Plantarum. Kew currently accepts Allium ramosum L. The name has accumulated a considerable synonymy, including names that have historically been applied to closely related garlic-chive plants. Importantly, Allium ramosum should not simply be treated as another name for Allium tuberosum in a modern catalogue. 

Flowers: June–August, with branching stems carrying loose umbels of small white flowers, often pleasantly scented.

Height: 50–70 cm
Spread: 30–40 cm

Position: Full sun
Soil: Moderately fertile, well-drained soil
Hardiness: H6–H7
Propagation: Seed or division

A handsome, hardy and genuinely useful species — less regimented than garlic chives, more graceful than the average onion and considerably more interesting once you start cooking with it