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Allium schoenoprasum
Also called Wild chives, Spanish garlic, Cives, Giant Garlic
Chives are a bulb-forming perennial herb in the onion family, widely grown for their edible grass-like leaves and purple flowers. They do best in full sun, in rich, well-drained soil that is kept evenly moist.
Chives, scientific name Allium schoenoprasum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae.
A perennial plant, A. schoenoprasum is widespread in nature across much of Eurasia and North America. It is the only species of Allium native to both the New World and Old World.
Chives have been cultivated in Europe since the Middle Ages (from the fifth until the 15th centuries), although their usage dates back 5,000 years.
Chives are cultivated both for their culinary uses and for their ornamental value; the violet flowers are often used in ornamental dry bouquets.
Native to temperate areas of Europe, Asia and North America. chives are the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds.
South Idaho onion · Abrams' allium · Allium aciphyllum · Tapertip onion · Allium aeginiense · Allium aflatunense · Allium agrigentinum · Allium alabasicum · Allium albotunicatum · Allium alibile · Altai Onion · Allium altissimum
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chives by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
