Allium schoenoprasum L. is the species known as chives. It has a wide distribution in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The range of chive forms provides a constant source of interest for this single species. The first photo by Andrey Dedov is of a mountain growing form from the Altai Region in Central Asia. Photos 2-5 by David Pilling show a single flower which despite being small has the same form as all alliums, seed heads with seeds on a 10 mm grid, shoots appearing in March and buds in the middle of May.
Photos by Mark McDonough show different forms. In the first photo we see a semi-dwarf form, growing 10-12" (25-30 cm) tall, with informal jostled heads of lilac-purple. In the second there is a garden view showing an array of color forms from white, through shades of pink and mauve. The last photo from Mark McDonough is of a form that was grown from seed of chives wild collected in Corsica. This was a very dwarf form, growing only 6-8" (15-20 cm) tall, with much sparser, very narrow foliage, slender stems and adorable little clusters of bloom in many colors. Subsequent seedling progeny has led to some very good selected forms. The photo shows a plant in the rock garden near Seattle, Washington.
'Curly Mauve' is a hybrid that I named, being one of the better "curly types" and a fascinating plant on many accounts. Many forms of chives actually have prostrate foliage; this one starts out prostrate, later becoming a misty blue-gray dance of medusa whips curling in all directions. In June the stems stand erect above the short curled foliage to open a sea of grayed-lavender chive florets. The five photos below show a growth progression. The last photo is a "Curly Mauve seedling", a spontaneous garden seedling that caught my eye in early spring because of the octopus-like rosette, the blue-gray curled tentacles swirling around flat on the ground. Photos by Mark McDonough.
Two other forms named and photographed by Mark McDonough are 'Marsha', a very deep purple form of chives, named for his friend Marsha Russell who had the deep form appear in her garden. Seed grown plants will vary, but a good percentage will yield similar purple forms. It grows to 2'(60 cm) tall. 'Snowcap' is shown in the second and third photos (with American species Spiraea densiflora). Mark writes: "Lots of plants go around as Allium schoenoprasum 'Alba', but it's rather ridiculous given that numerous forms of chives, from robust 2' (60 cm) tall plants to little 6" (15 cm) dwarf forms, might have white flowers. It's better to give these various white forms cultivar names. This seedling that I selected and named was derived from another dwarf white cultivar (that I also named) called 'Corsican White', the latter a miniature white-flowered form from Corsica. The selection named 'Snowcap' is a semi-dwarf, growing 12"-15" (30-38 cm) tall, with pristine white flowers."
