Onion

Parts Usually Used

The bulb

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Onion is a biennial or perennial plant; the bulb itself is an underground part of the stem, the above-ground part of which is hollow and blue-green. The leaves are the same color and hollow, but shorter than the stem. They dilate to surround the stem at the bottom. Greenish-white flowers grow in a rounded, umbellate cluster from June to August, producing tiny bulbs as fruit. Other varieties: Egyptian onion (Allium cepa var.

viviparum) makes bulbs on top of plant as well as bottom of plant; Welsh onion (A. fistulosum) has multiple shoots with many flowers, Chinese called this onion Ts’ung; Elephant garlic (A. ampeloprasum) has tall stalks with large, showy, white flowers; Chinese chives (A. tuberosum) grows in clumps of long thin leaves; Chives (A. schoenprasum) grows in clumps with long, thin, grasslike and hollow leaves; Ramp (A.

tricoccum) resembles poisonous lily of the valley, do not confuse them: Giant chives (A. sibericum) also known as Chinese chives.

Where Found

Mostly cultivated but also found wild in numerous varieties. Onions grow along streams and are found on mountains. Wild onions are gathered in May and June. Eaten as they are found, both bulbs and leaves, after washing.

Medicinal Properties

Anthelmintic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, stomachic, tonic

Legends, Myths and Stories

Onions were a favorite food of the Egyptian slaves. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, 9 tons of gold was given in payment for the onion consumed by the slaves building the great pyramids. The Egyptians themselves held onions in high regard, for Pliny reports that they “make their oaths” by garlic and onions. The regarded the brittle brown skin which envelops the onion bulb as a symbol of the universe.

Later, Europeans had a practice of suspending onion slices in each room to purge “evil spirits” from a house. The slices were collected and burned each day. One herbalist recorded a story attributing the immunization to garlic. The conflicting stories serve to demonstrate the inherent similarities of the two herbs. Culpeper noted onions served as well as garlic. Try eating parsley to avoid onion breath.

Or Chlorophyll tablets can help eliminate the odor. Personally, when I was a child, my uncle had a pet spider monkey. Every now and then, he would give the animal, named Chipper, a raw onion. ” Interestingly, it actually did work.

Uses

Historically, herbalists utilized onion juice, decoctions, and extracts as diuretic and expectorant agents, and boiled preparations were traditionally employed to address fluid retention. Folk practitioners believed the vegetable could counter gastrointestinal fermentation, support the heart, manage blood pressure, and stimulate the appetite. It was also consumed to address gas, heartburn, colic, bladder cramps, chills, fevers, gout, high cholesterol, and circulatory complaints, as well as to restore male sexual potency.

Combined with honey, onion juice was a traditional remedy for respiratory complaints such as coughs, hoarseness, colds, hay fever, and laryngitis. Externally, historical sources recommended applying raw slices or juice for minor burns, scalds, sprains, hemorrhoids, calluses, warts, and insect stings, as well as for hives, nettle rash, dandruff, hair loss, earaches, and toothaches.

How Sold

In the supermarket produce area

Bibliography

, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

copyright 1974. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 Indian Uses of Native Plants , by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr.

A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , West Nyack, NY, 1987. The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.

Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974