Allium hookeri

Hooker’s onion, Allium hookeri,  is a species which is known to be cultivated in home gardens and also commercially in the eastern Himalayas and East Asia.

In the album linked to below is a plant found on a market in Aizawl, Mizoram, Eastern India by Paul Barney. Paul sells this form under the name Allium hookeri “Zorami”. It gets a mention in my book, although the cultivar name isn’t mentioned! It is growing rather slowly in my garden but seems to be perfectly hardy. The pictures were taken during a visit to Paul’s nursery Edulis near to Pangbourne in the Thames Valley, UK.  See http://www.edulis.co.uk/products/allium-hookeri-zorami

An interesting paper about the ethnobotany of Allium hookeri in Manipur (a neighbouring Indian state north of Mizoram.  This shows that this Allium is both foraged in the wild and cultivated for home consumption and for the markets.  Both the leaves, and unusually, the roots (not the rhizomes) are eaten. A nutritional anaysis shows it is potentially healthier than common bulb onion. The article includes some pictures of it on sale on markets.
http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?nd11080

It’s habitat and range from Flora of China:  Forests, forest margins, moist places, meadows; 1400–4200 m. SW Sichuan, SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka].

See more of my pictures here including pictures of this plant in the Gothenburg Botanical Gardens
http://www.edimentals.com/pictures/index.php?/category/76

….and I really would like to try this purple form  :)
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Purple-Root-Allium-Hookeri-Thwaites-seeds-USD6-bag-15g-bag/904479_1720004476.html

And here are a couple of pictures showing the edible roots:

im26_1141110_삼채2_이상하_구글

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden