Allium thunbergii

Allium thunbergii, Thunberg's chive^[2] Thunberg garlic^[3] or sanbuchu,^[4] is an East Asian species of wild onion native to Japan (incl Bonin + Ryukyu Islands), Korea, and China (incl. Taiwan).^[5] 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.^{[1][6][7][8][9][10]}

Allium thunbergii
Allium thunbergii 'Ozawa' in the garden of botanist Robert R. Kowal, Madison, Wisconsin
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Species:	A. thunbergii
Binomial name
Allium thunbergii G. Don
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy Allium arenarium Thunb. Allium bakeri var. morrisonense (Hayata) T.S.Liu & S.S.Ying Allium bakeri var. morrisonense (Hayata) Tang S. Liu & S.S. Ying Allium cyaneum f. stenodon (Nakai & Kitag.) Kitag. Allium cyaneum var. stenodon (Nakai & Kitag.) Kitag. Allium japonicum Steud. Allium morrisonense Hayata Allium nerinifolium Baker Allium odorum Thunb. 1784, illegitimate homonym not L. 1767 Allium plurifoliatum var. stenodon (Nakai & Kitag.) J.M.Xu Allium pseudocyaneum Grüning Allium sacculiferum var. glaucum P.P.Gritz. Allium sacculiferum var. robustum P.P.Gritz. Allium senescens Thunb. Allium stenodon Nakai & Kitag. Allium triquetrum Lour. Allium yamarakyo Honda

Allium thunbergii produces one or two egg-shaped bulbs up to 20 mm in diameter. Scapes are up to 50 cm tall. Leaves are longer than the scape, hollow, triangular in cross-section. Umbels are crowded with many red or purple flowers.^{[6][7][11][12][13][14][15]}

The specific epithet thunbergii references the Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg.^[16]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[3]

Varieties^[5]

• 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 - China, Japan, Korea