thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

''Allium thunbergii'', Thunberg's chive or Thunberg garlic, is an East Asian species of

wild onion Wild onion can refer to * any uncultivated species in the genus ''Allium'', especially: **''Allium bisceptrum'' ** ''Allium canadense'' ** ''Allium tricoccum'' ** ''Allium validum'' ** ''Allium vineale'' * ''Asphodelus tenuifolius'' * ''Cyperus bulb ...

native to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(incl Bonin + Ryukyu Islands), Korea, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(incl. Taiwan).Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It grows at elevations up to 3000 m. The Flora of China recognizes ''A. tunbergii'' and ''A. stenodon'' as separate species, but more recent sources combine the two.Flora of China v 24 p 197, ''Allium thunbergii''
/ref>Flora of China v 24 p 179, ''Allium'' stenodon
/ref> ''Allium thunbergii'' produces one or two egg-shaped bulbs up to 20 mm in diameter.

Scapes Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatta ...

are up to 50 cm tall. Leaves are longer than the scape, hollow, triangular in cross-section.

Umbels In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

are crowded with many red or purple flowers.line drawing of ''Allium thunbergii'', Flora of China Illustrations vol. 24, fig. 221, 1-4
/ref> The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''thunbergii'' references the Swedish botanist

Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...

. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. ;Varieties * ''Allium thunbergii'' var. ''deltoides'' (S.O.Yu, S.Lee & W.T.Lee) H.J.Choi & B.U.Oh - Gayasan National Park in Korea * ''Allium thunbergii'' var. ''teretifolium'' H.J.Choi & B.U.Oh - Korea * ''Allium thunbergii'' var. ''thunbergii'' -

, Korea

References

Bibliography

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q11345349 thunbergii Onions Flora of China Flora of Eastern Asia Plants described in 1827