Allium wallichii Kunth

Allium wallichii Kunth, Enum. Pl. [Kunth] 4: 443 (1843).

Allium wallichii Kunth; Photo Hoang Thanh Son

Vietnamese name: 

Chinese name: 

多星韭 duo xing jiu 

English name: 

Jimbur

Latin name: 

Allium wallichii Kunth

Family: 

Amaryllidaceae

Synonym name:

Allium bulleyanum Diels

Allium bulleyanum var. tchongchanense (H.Lév.) Airy Shaw

Allium caeruleum Wall. 

Allium feddei H.Lév.

Allium liangshanense Z.Y.Zhu

Allium polyastrum Diels

Allium praelatitium H.Lév.

Allium tchongchanense H.Lév.

Allium violaceum Wall. ex Regel 

Allium wallichianum Steud. 

Allium wallichii var. albidum F.T. Wang & T. Tang

Allium wallichii var. wallichii

Nothoscordum mairei H.Lév.

Description: 

Roots elongate, thick. Bulb solitary or clustered, cylindric; tunic yellowish brown, laciniate or fibrous to subreticulate. Leaves linear to oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, shorter than to subequaling scape, (2--)5--20 mm wide, midvein distinct, base narrowed into a petiole or not. Scape lateral, (10--)20--50(--110) cm, 3-angled, sometimes narrowly 3-winged, covered with leaf sheaths only at base or for ca. 1/2 its length. Spathe 1- or 2-valved, deciduous. Umbel hemispheric, laxly or densely flowered. Pedicels subequal, 2--4 × as long as perianth, ebracteolate. Perianth stellately spreading, recurved after anthesis, pale red, red, or purple to blackish purple, rarely white; segments oblong-elliptic to narrowly so, 5--9 × 1.5--2 mm, apex retuse or obtuse. Filaments subulate, shorter than to subequaling perianth segments, connate at base and adnate to perianth segments. Ovary obovoid-globose, smooth; ovules 2 per locule. Style longer than ovary. 

Flower and fruid season: 

July-October. 

Distribution: 

This species is distributed in China, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim and VietNam. In VietNam, found in  Bát Xát (Lào Cai), Xuân Nha.

Ecological: 

Forest margins, scrub, meadows, stream banks; 2300-4800 m.

Edible Uses:

Young leaves - cooked as a vegetable. The dried leaves are used as a condiment in curries and pickles. Bulb - raw or cooked. Poorly developed and rather small. The cloves are used as a substitute for garlic. Flowers - raw. Used as a garnish on salads.

Medicinal Uses:

The bulbs, boiled then fried in ghee, are eaten in the treatment of cholera and dysentery. The raw bulb is chewed to treat coughs and colds. It is said that eating the bulbs can ease the symptoms of altitude sickness. Members of this genus are in general very healthy additions to the diet. They contain sulphur compounds (which give them their onion flavour) and when added to the diet on a regular basis they help reduce blood cholesterol levels, act as a tonic to the digestive system and also tonify the circulatory system.

Reference: 

- theplantlist.org

- efloras.org

- ipni.org

- pfaf.org

Photo Hoang Thanh Son