Welsh onions, Allium fistulosum (Alliaceae), never form a solid bulb and the scape, like the leaves, is hollow (fistulosum=hollow, like a pipe) and fragile. However, in taste and odor they are very like the garden onion and hybrids between the two (e.g. tree onions) exist. They are also known as green onions, bunching onions or scallions (q.v.) in U.S. markets, but those terms have also been used for other kinds of onions.

In addition to their use in cooking, they are often grown in a bunch as a foliage ornamental perennial.

The plant does not, as its name would seem to suggest, come originally from Wales. "Welsh" is a corruption of the German "welsch" meaning "foreign". The plant originated in Asia - possibly Siberia or China. Known as 蔥 (pinyin: cōng; pronounced "tsong," with high tone) in Chinese, 　ネギ in Japanese, and 파 (pa) in Korean, they are an important ingredient of many East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. Welsh onion is used in Russia in the spring for adding green leaves to salads.

External links

• Welsh onion in flower image

Image:Allium_fistulosum_Ypey26.jpg|Allium fistulosum

Asparagales | Chinese cuisine | Japanese vegetables | Korean cuisine | Russian cuisine | Onions | Leaf vegetables | Vietnamese cuisine

Winterzwiebel | Ciboule | Lente-ui | Hành | Лук-батун | ネギ | 蔥