perennial plant profiles

Allium tuberosum, Garlic Chives

We can think of at least 180 great forest garden & perennial crops for cold climate Sweden.  Want to hear about them? Over the course of the next year we will profile 5 a week on the blog. Perennial plants and crops offer a low energy, oil & resource input based foundation for future-proof agricultures. By default if an agriculture is to be called regenerative the bottom line is that it must be soil building, not soil depleting. Relentless deep tillage & poor soil husbandry (wifery?!) contributes to the majority of the 24 billion tons of topsoil lost every year on planet water.  We are going to be focused on holistic polyculture grazing and perennial production at ridgedale over most of the site as this represents the most effective way to restore our degraded landscape, produce high value produce and ensure the future resource base we are managing holistically for in our decision making. 

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Genus Allium 
Species tuberosum 
Common Name Garlic chives
Form herb
Habit clumping
Origin Asia
Light sun to part
Moisture dry to mesic 
Edible greens, flowers, bulb


In cold climates aerial parts of chives will die back completely to the ground and the roots/rhizomes will over-winter and then re-sprout in spring time.  Leaves, stalks and immature flower buds are used as a flavoring in a similar way to chives, green onions or garlic.  The flavor is destroyed by lengthy cooking.  The small bulbs are about 10mm in diameter and are produced in clusters on a short rhizome.

Allium tuberosum is one of several Allium species known as wild onion and/or wild garlic that in various parts of the world are listed as noxious weeds.

The whole plant is antibacterial, cardiac, depurative, digestive, stimulant and is used as a tonic. It is an anti-emetic herb that improves kidney function. It is used internally to treat urinary incontinence, kidney and bladder weaknesses, etc. The seed is carminative and stomachic. They are used in India in the treatment of spermatorrhoea. The leaves and the bulbs are applied to bites, cuts and wounds.

The juice of the plant is used as a moth repellent. The whole plant is said to repel insects and moles.

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OUR FRIENDS AT PFAF HAVE AN AMAZING DATABASE OF SPECIES (UK BASED);

Allium tuberosum

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