Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum)

Allium tuberosum, garlic chives or Chinese chives, is a perennial onion relative with flat, grass-like leaves that taste of garlic and starry white flowers. It is a staple herb of Chinese, Korean and Japanese cooking, where it is called jiucai, buchu and nira. In India it is grown in Manipur as maroi nakupi and in kitchen pots elsewhere.

Botanical name: Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng.
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Tamil: Garlic chives
Hindi: Nira
Parts used: Leaf, Flower
Habit: Garlic chives; onion is a cousin, not this leaf
Last updated: 2026-10-30

How to recognise Garlic chives

It forms clumps of flat, narrow, solid leaves, unlike the hollow, round leaves of common chives.

In late summer it sends up stiff stalks topped with rounded clusters of small, white, star-shaped flowers.

The bulbs are small and sit on a short, creeping rhizome.

Crushed leaves smell of garlic. Onion, Allium cepa, has hollow leaves and a large bulb.

Leaves can be cut several times a season, and the clump keeps regrowing from the base.

Traditional use of Garlic chives

East Asian kitchen

Leaves are used in dumplings, stir-fries, pancakes and soups across China, Korea and Japan. Flower buds are stir-fried as a vegetable.

East Asian food practice

Manipuri kitchen

Maroi nakupi is added to eromba, singju salads and soups in Manipur.

Manipuri food practice

Modern notes on Garlic chives

It contains the same family of sulphur compounds that give onions and garlic their flavour.

It is a hardy, easy herb that regrows after cutting, which makes it well suited to pots.

Garlic chives safety

It is a food herb. Like other alliums it is toxic to dogs and cats.

Ecology and sourcing

It is native to southern China and the eastern Himalaya and has been cultivated in East Asia for thousands of years.

Its flowers attract bees and butterflies late in the season.

It self-seeds freely and can become weedy in gardens.

Related plants

Questions about Garlic chives

Is Garlic chives the same as chives?

No. Common chives have hollow round leaves and purple flowers.

What is maroi nakupi?

Its Manipuri name.

Can Garlic chives grow in a pot?

Yes, easily, and it regrows after cutting.

Are the flowers of Garlic chives edible?

Yes. The buds and flowers are cooked or used as garnish.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.