Unique Ecosystem - Plants
The oriental chive is a perennial plant (an herbaceous plant that survives two or more years) found mainly in cold mountainous or coastal regions of Honshu. However, it grows in the warm-temperate climate of the Oki Islands too, on the coastlines where the waves splash against the shore. It is a great example of unique plant distribution in the Oki Islands.
The leaves are a pale green with the same shape as a scallion's, at 4–5 mm in circumference. Both leaves and stems smell like spring onions.
Many light purple flowers spring from the same stalk in a cluster, forming a characteristic round, onion-like shape.
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Scientific Name
Allium schoenoprasum var. orientale
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Classification
Family Amaryllidaceae
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Distribution
Hokkaido, Honshu (north of the Chūbu region, northern Kinki region, Oki Islands), Sakhalin (Russia), Korean Peninsula, Eastern Siberia
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Flowering Season
Late May–June
