Delicious discoveries: Scientists just described a new onion species  
  from the Himalaya  
    
    Date:  
        October 18, 2021  
    Source:  
        Pensoft Publishers  
    Summary:  
        While the onion, garlic, scallion, shallot and chives have been on  
        our plates for centuries, becoming staple foods around the world,  
        their group, the genus Allium, seems to be a long way from running  
        out of surprises. Recently, a group of researchers from India  
        described a new onion species from the western Himalaya region,  
        long known to the locals as 'jambu' and 'phran.'  
    
    
  FULL STORY  
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  The genus Allium contains about 1,100 species worldwide, including many  
  staple foods like onion, garlic, scallion, shallot and chives. Even  
  though this group of vegetables has been making appearances at family  
  dinners for centuries, it turns out that it is a long way from running  
  out of surprises, as a group of researchers from India recently found out.  
    
    
  ==========================================================================  
  In 2019, Dr. Anjula Pandey, Principal Scientist at ICAR-National Bureau  
  of Plant Genetic Resources in New Delhi, together with scientists,  
  Drs K Madhav Rai, Pavan Kumar Malav and S Rajkumar, was working on the  
  systematic botany of the genus Allium for the Indian region, when the  
  team came across plants of what would soon be confirmed as a new species  
  for science in the open-access journal PhytoKeys.  
    
  The plant, called Allium negianum,was discovered in the Indo-Tibetan  
  border area of Malari village, Niti valley of Chamoli district in  
  Uttarakhand. It grows at 3000 to 4800 m above sea level and can be found  
  along open grassy meadows, sandy soils along rivers, and streams forming  
  in snow pasture lands along alpine meadows (locally known as "bugyal"  
  or "bugial"), where the melting snow actually helps carry its seeds to  
  more favourable areas. With a pretty narrow distribution, this newly  
  described speciesis restricted to the region of western Himalaya and  
  hasn't yet been reported from anywhere else in the world.  
    
  The scientific name Allium negianum honours the late Dr. Kuldeep Singh  
  Negi, an eminent explorer and Allium collector from India.  
    
  Although new to science, this species has long been known under domestic  
  cultivation to local communities. While working on this group, the  
  research team heard of phran, jambu, sakua, sungdung, and kacho --  
  different local names for seasoning onions. According to locals, the  
  one from Niti valley was particularly good, even deemed the best on  
  the market.  
    
  So far only known from the western Himalaya region, Allium negianum might  
  be under pressure from people looking to taste it: the researchers fear  
  that indiscriminate harvest of its leaves and bulbs for seasoning may  
  pose a threat to its wild populations.  
    
  ==========================================================================  
  Story Source: Materials provided by Pensoft_Publishers. The original  
  text of this story is licensed under a Creative_Commons_License. Note:  
  Content may be edited for style and length.  
    
    
  ==========================================================================  
  Journal Reference:  
     1. Anjula Pandey, K. Madhav Rai, Pavan Kumar Malav, S. Rajkumar. Allium  
        negianum (Amaryllidaceae): a new species under subg. Rhizirideum  
        from Uttarakhand Himalaya, India. PhytoKeys, 2021; 183: 77 DOI:  
        10.3897/ phytokeys.183.65433  
  ==========================================================================  
    
  Link to news story:  
  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211018082348.htm  
    
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