Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Allium schoenoprasum

Common name:	Chives	Family:	Alliaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Although no individual reports regarding this species have been seen, there have been cases of poisoning caused by the consumption, in very large quantities and by some mammals, of certain members of this genus. Dogs seem to be particularly susceptible[76].
Range:	Most of Europe, including Britain, east to the Himalayas and Japan.
Habitat:	Rocky pastures and damp meadows, preferring calcareous soils[17, 90].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	5	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. schoenoprasum var. alpinum[G] A. sibiricum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bieslook [D], Chives [H,L], Cive [E], Cives [H], Kurrath Aspanya [E], Sedgeleek [E], Wild Chives [P,B], Yabansarimsagi [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	schoenoprasum = a 'rush leek'
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain Haiti Iraq Turkey
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: .

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.3m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf from February to December, in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 5/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedgerow, Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Cultivar 'Extra Fine Leaved': Cultivated Beds.
Cultivar 'Fruhlau': Cultivated Beds.
Cultivar 'White': Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves Root.

Leaves - raw, cooked or dried for later use. The leaves have a mild onion flavour and are an excellent addition to mixed salads, they can also be used as a flavouring in soups etc[2, 4, 5, 9, 27, 33]. The leaves are often available from late winter and can continue to produce leaves until early the following winter, especially if they are in a warm, sheltered position[K]. A good source of sulphur and iron[201]. A nutritional analysis is available[218].
The bulbs are rather small, and rarely exceed 10mm in diameter[200]. They can be harvested with the leaves still attached and be used as spring onions[K]. They have a pleasant mild onion flavour.
The flowers can be used as a garnish in salads etc[183]. The flowers of this species are rather dry and less desirable than the flowers of many other species[K].

Composition

Leaves (Dry weight): In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Water: 0 Calories: 330 Protein: 27 Fat: 5.5 Carbohydrate: 60 Fibre: 10.7 Ash: 7
In milligrammes per 100g weight of food:
Calcium: 900 Phosphorus: 509 Iron: 15 Potassium: 2874 VitaminA: 40000 Thiamine: 1.1 Riboflavin: 1.15 Niacin: 6 VitaminC: 522
Source: [218]
Notes : The figures given here are the median figures of a range that was quoted in the report.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Appetizer Digestive Hypotensive Tonic.

The whole plant has a beneficial effect on the digestive system and the blood circulation. It improves the appetite, is digestive, hypotensive and tonic[201]. It has similar properties to garlic (A. sativum), but in a much milder form, and it is rarely used medicinally[238].

Other Uses

Fungicide Repellent.

The juice of the plant is used as an insect repellent, it also has fungicidal properties and is effective against scab, mildew etc[14, 18, 20, 201]. The growing plant is said to repel insects and moles[14, 20, 200].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant[203], it prefers a sunny position in a rich moist but well-drained soil[14, 37], though it succeeds in most soils[1, 37, 200] and also in light shade[203]. Grows well in heavy clay soils[203]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.2 to 8.3.
Chives are commonly cultivated in the garden for their edible leaves which are available from late winter to the beginning of the following winter[K]. The bulbs divide rapidly and large clumps are quickly formed. There are some named varieties[183, 200, 203]. Chives are very tolerant of heavy harvesting, regular cutting of the leaves ensures a continuous supply of young leaves and prevents the plants flowering[33]. Plants can be moved into a frame or other protected environment in the autumn and will then produce leaves throughout the winter[33]. Do not do this every year or it weakens the plants.
The bulbs should be planted fairly deeply[1].
A good bee plant[24].
Grows well with most plants, especially roses, carrots, beet and chamomile, but it inhibits the growth of legumes[18, 20, 54]. Helps to reduce the incidence of scab when it is grown under apple trees[201]. This plant is a bad companion for alfalfa, each species negatively affecting the other[201].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination is usually free and easy, pot up the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle easily and plant out in the following spring.
Division can be carried out at almost any time of the year but is probably best done in spring. The clumps should be divided at least every 3 or 4 years in order to maintain vigour[200], the divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.

Cultivars

'White': A very ornamental form with white flowers[K]. The plant is very productive and the quality of the leaves is good[K].
'Fruhlau': An earlier and more productive clone, growing to about 22cm[183]. The plants can be cut more frequently than other forms[183].
'Forescate': A very attractive form with clear bright rose-red flower heads. It has a good flavour for culinary use[183].
'Extra Fine Leaved': A special strain with a very fine leaf, it is much in demand for growing as a commercial crop[183].

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Wildwood Nurseries: Lower Manor Cottage
Thornbury
Holsworthy
Devon
EX22 7DD
Email: lorna@macace.co.uk
Phone 01409 261324 Fax 01409 261324
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Wildwood by email/phone
Last Updated: March 03
Item: Allium schoenoprasum (chives)

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for allium schoenoprasum (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[33] Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960
Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[203] Davies. D. Alliums. The Ornamental Onions. Batsford 1992 ISBN 0-7134-7030-5
Covers about 200 species of Alliums. A very short section on their uses, good details of their cultivation needs.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

Readers Comments

Back to: Pathways Home page, Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Allium+schoenoprasum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Allium+schoenoprasum

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.