{"id":29255,"date":"2021-07-07T23:51:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T21:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edimentals.com\/blog\/?p=29255"},"modified":"2021-07-08T20:28:21","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T18:28:21","slug":"chiugok-small-birds-garlic-a-hardy-himalayan-edimental","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.edimentals.com\/blog\/?p=29255","title":{"rendered":"Chiugok, Small Bird’s Garlic, a hardy Himalayan edimental"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like Sherpa onion or Nepalese onion Allium wallichii, <\/em>which features in my book Around the World in 80 plants, chiugok (small bird’s garlic) as Allium macrantum<\/em> is known in Lithang, Tibet is the latest emerging Alliums in my garden. I often wonder if they are still alive when, in a cold spring they haven’t emerged by the end of May, but both species have overwintered now for almost 20 years.<\/p>\n

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A nice large group of Allium macranthum in the Gothenburg Botanical Gardens in Sweden on 26th May 2008<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Spring shoots in the Troms\u00f8 Botanical Gardens on 4th June 2009<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m not sure where my oldest plants came from but my second accession came from Vojtec Holubec’s seedlist, collected in Szechuan in China.\u00a0 It’s native to Bhutan, Sikkim, Gansu, Shaanxi, as well as Szechuan and Tibet and grows in wet places at elevations of 2700\u20134200 metres (Flora of China).<\/p>\n

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The roots are fleshy and could no doubt be eaten like the fleshy roots \/ rhizomes of <\/em>Allium wallichii and <\/em>Allium hookeri are.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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<\/em> The roots of <\/em>Allium macranthum (on the left) are similar looking to larger <\/em>Allium wallichii (right)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By early July the old roots are withering away and new roots are growing as the flower scape appears:\"\"
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The flowers are gorgeous hanging on long pedicels. Note that the flower colour varies and the Szechuan accession is pink with green pedicels and has relatively many flowers.<\/p>\n