Allium x proliferum
Allium x proliferum subsp. var. | Tree onion, Top Onions, Topset Onions, Walking Onions, Egyptian onions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tree onions are a strong-growing onion with a bunch of bulblets where a normal onion would have flowers.
Their species name is "proliferum", although they have many characteristics of the Allium cepa, and are also commonly called Top Onions, Topset Onions, Walking Onions, or Egyptian onions. Tree Onion bulblets will sprout and grow while still on the original stalk, which may bend down under the weight of the new growth, giving rise to the name, walking onion. Recent research has shown that the tree onion may be a cross between Allium cepa, the cultivated onion, and Allium fistulosum, the Welsh onion (Some sites may currently treat the Tree Onion as Allium cepa Proliferum Group).
This phenomenon of forming bulblets instead of flowers is also seen in garlic and other various wild species of Allium. Bulblets in tree onions are generally very small, usually within .5 cm to 3 cm in diameter, although sizes may differ out of this range, from time to time. A similar relative to the tree onion is the pearl onion and a few other, nameable varieties.
Cultivation
Propagation
Pests and diseases
Varieties
Gallery
- Allium cepa2.jpg
Egyptian onions
- Sint Jansui (Allium fistulosum var. bulbifera).jpg
Tree onion 9 april 2007
- Egyptian Tree Onion, Walking Onion, Topset Onion (Allium cepa var. proliferum).jpg
Growing wild along a fence
References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Allium x proliferum. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Allium x proliferum QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)