Species Alliums being edible?
Colleen (Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:47:39 PDT)

I looked up your alliums and could not find a single seed or plant source. Are they only available in the wild?

I have a perennial garlic that has self-seeded and returned for years, even through minus 20-30F temps. I don't remember where I bought it, but I think it was billed as Egyptian or top-set garlic. All I have been able to find on the web just now are similar plants said to be onions. Mine produce a ball of little garlics and if left unharvested will drop down producing the next year's crop. I like to harvest the little bullets and have them in a dish to spoon out, sort of like a salt dish. If anyone is interested I could share some of the little bulbs.

Colleen
NE Calif.

-----Original Message-----
From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mark BROWN
Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 10:03 AM
To: Pacific Bulb Society
Subject: Re: [pbs] Species Alliums being edible?

Dear All,
I have introduced Allium ursinium in the parts of the garden dedicated to wild food.
I enjoy its' mild flavour of late in salads and a few leaves thrown in with pasta as it is cooking.
You can make a great sort of pesto from its leaves which keeps well.
Allium vineale is wild here and makes a good addition as a wild vegetable.
I have grown A. oleraceum but this becomes too much except in the wildest places.
A. ampeloprasum is quite a delicious alternative to garlic!
A. senecens is grown for its' edibility but I have yet to try it!
A. sativum ophioscorodon is just a curiosity. A. cepa aggregatum is a bit fiddly to use.

Kind regards,
Mark

Message du 05/04/13 18:44
De : "Nhu Nguyen"
A : "Pacific Bulb Society"
Copie à :
Objet : Re: [pbs] Species Alliums being edible?

I would say that it's not a good thing to eat wild onions,
particularly because like many other geophytes, it takes so long for them regenerate.
The ones in California takes about 4 years to mature from seeds and I
would not expect any less from the ones in Israel. Perhaps they were
eaten more thousands of years ago was because they were much more
common. With that said, if you want to grow some up in your garden to
eat, I'd be really interested in your assessment of the flavors.

Nhu

On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 12:42 AM, Shmuel Silinsky wrote:

There are many species of Allium native here in Israel. Some are
endemic. I am wondering if all are edible, both as leaf or as bulb.
Obviously flavor will vary, even bitterness, but are any poisonous?

I am especially interested in knowing about Allium aschersonium. It
has a large bulb - and I would like to try it as an edible.

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