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Amaryllidaceae FAMILY

Allium × proliferum

Allium × proliferum

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

There have been cases of poisoning caused by the consumption, in large quantities and by some mammals, of this plant. Dogs seem to be particularly susceptible[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitBulb
Growth—

Prefers a sunny position in a light well-drained soil[2] but succeeds in most soils that are in good condition[3]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 to 8.3. The bulbs should be planted fairly deeply[2]. Plants rarely if ever produce seed, instead the flowering head is comprised of a number of small onions or bulbils[3, 4]. This species is completely sterile and does not form fertile seeds[5]. Plants are propagated by means of the bulbils or by dividing the main bulb that grows underground[PFAF]. By no means a heavily productive plant, though the bulbils are very well flavoured and the plant is fairly easily grown[PFAF]. Its main problem is that slugs seem to be attracted to it and can eat to death even well-established plants[PFAF]. The plant is said to be immune to onion root fly[3]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[6].

Propagation

Harvest bulbils in late summer and replant immediately or store them in a cool dry frost-free place and plant them out in late winter or early spring. Division of the bulbs after the leaves die down in late summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Allium+%C3%97+proliferum>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. — Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. · HMSO · 1984 · ISBN 0112425291 ↩︎Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
  4. [4]Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. — Organ. J. · Faber · 1960 · ISBN - ↩︎Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.
  5. [5]Flora Malesiana Series 1 — Various · Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch · http://www.archive.org ↩︎A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
  6. [6]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · 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.
  7. [7]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · 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.
  8. [8]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  9. [9]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  10. [10]The Herb Book. — Lust. J. · Bantam books · 1983 · ISBN 0-553-23827-2 ↩︎Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
  11. [11]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  12. [12]A - Z of Companion Planting. — Allardice.P. · Cassell Publishers Ltd. · 1993 · ISBN 0-304-34324-2 ↩︎A well produced and very readable book.
  13. [13]Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. — Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) · Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading · 1986 · ISBN 0704909820 ↩︎Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.
  14. [14]Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. — Grae. I. · MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. · 1974 · ISBN 0-02-544950-8 ↩︎A very good and readable book on dyeing.
  15. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎