Allium ochotense

Allium ochotense is a primarily East Asian species of wild onion native to northern Japan, Korea, China, and the Russian Far East, as well as on Attu Island in Alaska.

Some authors have considered A. ochotense as belonging to the same species as A. victorialis, but more recent authorities have treated it as a distinct species.

General description

Allium ochotense grows to 20–30 cm (8–12 in) in height, with a strong garlic-like odor, and has "bulbs.. surrounded by a grayish-brown, netlike coating. The leaves are 1-3 glabrous, broadly elliptic,... perianth (flower) whitish-green". The plant is slow-growing, and aside from seed-propagation, "A. victorialis has two vegetative propagation systems; one is tillering and the other is adventitious buds".

The plant has intense garlic-like odor, and the presence of specific odor agents have been identified by researchers (#Chemistry). The garlicky odor (cf. allicin content) is thought more intense than garlic itself.

Distribution

Allium ochotense is centered in the Amur River basin area, thus, it occurs in the Amur, Khabarovsk, Primorye regions of Siberia, and into Sakhalin and Kuril Islands within the Russian Far East. In China, the plant grows in Inner Mongolia and China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning), Hebei, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Sichuan). The range also includes Korea, and Japan (Hokkaido and Honshu). The plant's range extends nominally into the United States, but A. ochotense is only found natively growing on Attu Island which is the westernmost extreme island of the Aleutian archipelago. There are colonies on Unalaska Island but they are though to be introduced.