Allium tuberosum

Family	Alliaceae (also placed in Liliaceae)
Scientific name	Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel
Synonyms	Allium argyi H. Léveillé; Allium chinense Maximovicz, non G. Don; Allium clarkei J. D. Hooker; Allium odorum auct. non L.; Allium uliginosum G. Don, non Ledebour; Allium roxburghii Kunth; Allium angulosum Loureiro. non L.; Allium senescens Miquel, non L.; Allium tuberosum Roxburgh; Allium yesoense Nakai
Common name	(Japanese common name) nira (ニラ, 韮 [meaning: Chinese leek])
	(English common name) Chinese chives, Chinese leek, Chinese onion, garlic chives, Oriental garlic
Distribution	(Japan) Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa
	(Other nations) Korea, China, Mongolia, Nepal, India, Pakistan
Habitat	Roadside, farm yard, fields
Chromosomal number	2n=32
Description	Scapes 30-50cm tall. Leaves 20-30cm long. Flowers white perianths 5-6mm long, flowering in August to September. Fruits ca. 5mm. Perennial plants.
Reference	Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng.
	Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel
	Flavor compounds from allium root cultures (US Patent 5244794/1993)
	Hybrid plants of onion and garlic or Chinese chive and method for breeding and propagating the same (US Patent 5367111/1994)
	Pseudomonas gladioli and a process for biologically controlling fusarium diseases using Pseudomonas gladioli pv. gladioli (US Patent 4880745/1999)
	Direct transformation of higher plants through pollen tube pathway (US Patent 6583335/2003)
	Serine O-acetytransferase (US Patent 6831206/2004)
	Method of producing plant seeds (European Patent EP1290937/2003)
Note	Cultivated as vegetables. Wild plants can be found easily.

September 2007 at rice paddy	September 2007 at rice paddy	September 2007 at rice paddy

September 2007 at rice paddy

October 2007 at open field	October 2007 at open field