| Allium ochotense | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Allioideae |
| Genus: | Allium |
| Subgenus: | A.subg. Anguinum |
| Species: | A. ochotense |
| Binomial name | |
| Allium ochotense | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
Synonymy
| |
Allium ochotense, or theSiberian onion,[3] is a primarilyEast Asian species ofwild onion native to northernJapan,Korea,China, and theRussian Far East, as well as onAttu Island inAlaska.[1]
Some authors have consideredA. ochotense as belonging to the same species asA. victorialis,[4] but more recent authorities have treated it as a distinct species.[1][5][6][7][8]
Allium ochotense grows to 20–30 cm (8–12 in) in height,[9] with a strong garlic-like odor,[9] and has "bulbs.. surrounded by a grayish-brown, netlike coating. The leaves are 1–3 glabrous, broadly elliptic,... perianth (flower) whitish-green".[10] The plant is slow-growing, and aside from seed-propagation, "A. victorialis has twovegetative propagation systems; one istillering and the other isadventitious buds".[11]
The plant has an intensegarlic-like odor (cf.allicin content) that is thought more intense than garlic itself.
Allium is the ancientLatin name forgarlic.[12]
The specific epithet,ochotense, was given by Yarosláv Ivánovich Prokhánov (Яросла́в Ива́нович Проха́нов) [1902–1965], a Soviet botanist, systematist, geographer, geneticist, Doctor of Biological Science, and professor.[13] It was presumably named in reference to theOkhotsk region ofRussia, a place where this species is known to occur.
Allium ochotense is centered in theAmur River basin area, thus, it occurs in theAmur,Khabarovsk,Primorye regions ofSiberia, and intoSakhalin andKuril Islands within theRussian Far East. InChina, the plant grows inInner Mongolia andChina (Heilongjiang,Jilin,Liaoning),Hebei,Henan,Anhui,Hubei,Zhejiang,Shaanxi,Shanxi,Gansu, andSichuan). The range also includesKorea, inUlleungdo and the high mountains (over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft)) in theKorean Peninsula, includingPaektu Mountain,[14] andJapan (Hokkaido andHonshu), in colonies from Hokkaido down to theKinki area (Nara Prefecture[9]), in coniferous and mixed forested wetlands in subalpine terrain. The plant's range extends nominally into theUnited States, butA. ochotense is only found natively growing onAttu Island, the westernmost island of theAleutian archipelago. There are colonies onUnalaska Island, but they are thought to be introduced.[15]
From around 1990, it has been grown horticulturally in Hokkaido and snowy regions on the eastern side ofHonshū. Outbreaks of plant disease have been reported in these onionpaddy farms.[16] It requires approximately four years from sowing to harvest.
AtUtsunomiya University's Agriculture Department, the research group led by then-assistant professor Nobuaki Fujishige developed anA. ochotense ×A. tuberosum (garlic chives) hybrid, which they dubbedgyōjana (行者菜).[17] It resembles the garlic chive in outward appearance, but inherits the thick-stalked trait ofA. victorialis, and like the garlic chive, is ready for harvest after 1 year. It has been sold in the commercial market since 2008 inNagai, Yamagata.[18]
Researchers have identified 1-propenyl disulfides andvinyldithiins as odor compounds.[19] Specific odor agents include: "methyl allyl disulfide (Chinese chive odor),diallyl disulfide (garlic-like odor), anddimethyl disulfide and methyl allyl trisulfide (pickles-like odor)".[20]
In China its name is given asgecong (Chinese:各蔥(茖蔥);pinyin:gěcōng;Wade–Giles:ko3-t'ung1;lit. 'ge onion') orshancong (Chinese:山蔥;pinyin:shāncōng;Wade–Giles:shan1-t'ung1;lit. 'alpine onion').[21] Its use may be not be widespread. One source only mentions that theJiarongic minority harvest the "tender unfolding leaves" which they sun-dry and serve on special occasions.[21]
The Japanese namegyōja ninniku (ギョウジャニンニク／行者葫) means literally "a (type of) garlic that agyōja makes use of as food,"[9] where agyōja signifies a monk or a lay person engaged in ascetic training outdoors (cf.shugyō (修行),Shugendō). Much of its flourishing habitat occurs innature reserves such as national parks. Hence it is considered a scarcesansai (wild-harvested vegetable), and commands high prices at the market.
Siberian onion is an important ethnobotanic food plant for the indigenousAinu people of Japan. In theAinu language it is calledpukusa,[22][23]kitobiru,[23] or ( since "biru/hiru" is a Japanese word for onion-type plants), simplykito.[24] Siberian onion comes into season in Hokkaido forforaging from early to mid-May. The Ainu traditionally gather the leaves (but not the whole bulb), which are chopped up and dried for future use.[23] The plant may be used by the Ainu in the savory soup calledohaw (オハウ), or in theratashkep (rataskep) (ラタシケプ), described as a type of stew using multiple ingredients, or a dish where ingredients are tossed in animal fat oil.
In modern days, the leafstalk can be preserved by steeping insoy sauce, or the fresh leaves can be made intoohitashi (parboiled and served plain or withdashi flavor), made intogyōza (pot-sticker dumplings), or blended into atamagoyaki-type omelet. The young unraveled leaves with a stalk about 1 cm (half-inch) have rich flavor and fragrance and are especially prized. Also, the stalks being commerciallygrown by blanching (cf.white asparagus) have been gaining popularity.
There are a number of inedible or poisonous plants that can be mistaken for victory onions in Japan, and those reported cases of consumption and illness include:Veratrum album (Ja:baikeisō),Veratrum stamineum (Ja:ko-baikeisō),Colchicum autumnale (Ja:inu-safuran) andlily of the valley.[25] The distinctive smell should tell it apart.
InKorea, theA. ochotense andA. microdictyon are calledsanmaneul (산마늘, "mountain garlic"). While the official name forA. ochotense isUlleung sanmaneul (울릉산마늘, "Ulleungdo mountain garlic"),[3] the most common name used byKorean people ismyeongi (명이), whose romanized form (along withSiberian onion) is an English name of the plant.[3]Myeongi is also calledmyeonginamul (명이나물), because it is considered anamul (vegetable).
Myeongi is a specialty of Ulleung Island, where the leaves grow wider and hardier.[14]
The leaves and the scaly bulb ofmyeongi are most often eaten as anamul-type side dish, or as assam vegetable for asamgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) meal.Myeongi is also eatenpickled as ajangajji-type side dish, or used as the last ingredient indak-gomtang ("chicken bone soup").
In Siberia, the young shoots are eaten.[10][21]
In Japan,pukusa or Siberian onion has been used as a folk remedy among the Ainu. For example, it is administered as a diuretic to treat urine blockage relating to certain stomach disorders.[24]
Intraditional Korean medicine, myeongi was considered to be a warming herb, astomachic, and adetoxicant. As a herb, it was used to treatindigestion,heatburn, smallabscesses, andbites and stings fromvenomous insects. The seed was used to treatnocturnal emission.[14]
In Japan, Ainu folklore held that due to its odor, Siberian onion was capable of repelling diseases. When anepidemic broke out, the onion would be left hanging at the entrances to the village or dangled from the eaves of each house.[26]
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