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Allium ascalonicum L.

Family Name:	Amaryllidaceae
Synonyms:	Allium cepa var. aggregatum, Allium cepa var. ascalonicum
Common Name:	Shallot, 火葱, 分葱

Full Sun

Lots of Water

Moderate Water

Fruit or Vegetable

Herb or Spice

Annual

Grass or Grass-like Plant

Shrub

Herbaceous Plant

Plant Division	Angiosperms (Flowering Seed Plants) (Monocotyledon)
Plant Growth Form	Shrub (Herbaceous), Grass or Grass-like Plant
Lifespan (in Singapore)	Biennial, Annual

Mode of Nutrition	Autotrophic
Maximum Height	50 cm

Native Distribution	South-western Asia
Native Habitat	Terrestrial
Preferred Climate Zone	Tropical, Sub-Tropical / Monsoonal

Local Conservation Status

Non-native (Horticultural / Cultivated Only)

Roots	Adventitious roots, 1-2mm in diameter, 10-25cm long, arising from true stem.
Foliage	3-8 leaves, alternate arrangement, distichous, glaucous, produced in succession from the broadening stem apex, each arising as a ring which elongated to form the tubular leaf-sheath; leaf-blade cylindrical, light to dark green in color, hollow, erect or slanting. Bulbs formed by the thickening of leaf-bases a short distance above the true stem; as result of the rapid formation of lateral bulbs or shoots, clusters of 3-18 bulbs of the first and second order are formed; protective bulbcoat-leaves purplish, brownish or white; mature bulbs oblongoid, globular or oblate, up to 5cm in diameter, very variable in shape, size and color and weight.
Stems	True stem very short, flattened, form of a disk; pseudostem formed by the sheathing bases of successive leaves.

Flowers	Inflorescence a spherical umbel, 2-8cm in diameter, protected by a membranous spathe which splits into 2-4 persistent papery bracts; umbel with more than 50 individual hermaphrodite flowers; pedicel slender; flowers sub-campanulate to urceolate; tepals 6 in 2 whorls, ovate to oblong, 3-5mm long, greenish-white; stamens6; ovary superior; 3-locular, style simple, shorter than stamens at anthesis.
Fruit	A globular capsule, 4-6mm in diameter, splitting loculicidally, containing up to 6 seeds. Seed about 6mm x 4mm, black, wrinkled.
Ethnobotanical Uses	Edible Plant Parts : Edible Leaves, Edible Flowers, Edible Stems, Edible Roots, Edible Storage Organs Food (Fruit or Vegetable): Young inflorescence are eaten as vegetable. (Herb or Spice): Shallot(bulb) is used as food, spice and seasoning. It often used raw, sliced, mixed with soy sause and eaten with roasted meat. Shallot can be mixed with other ingredients and after grinding used as spice for meat and fish. Medicinal: Shallot is traditionally used to reduce fever and to cure wounds. In the latter case the bulb is sliced, mixed with coconut oil and salt, boiled and placed as poultice on the wound. Shallot is also used to lower blood sugar levels and inhibit platelet aggregation by eating it raw or cooked, as an extract or powder.

Landscape Uses	Small Gardens, Container Planting
Thematic Landscaping	Economic Garden

Light Preference	Full Sun
Water Preference	Lots of Water, Moderate Water
Rootzone Tolerance	Moist Soils, Well-Drained Soils

Propagation Method

Seed, Storage Organ (Bulb), Division

Foliar Arrangement Along Stem

Alternate

Stem Type & Modification	Herbaceous, Pseudostem

Inflorescence Type

Compound Umbel

Images

Master ID	31530
Species ID	5929
Flora Disclaimer	The information in this website has been compiled from reliable sources, such as reference works on medicinal plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and NParks does not purport to provide any medical advice. Readers should always consult his/her physician before using or consuming a plant for medicinal purposes.