Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Northern Hemisphere
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Bulbs
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

Chives are slender, hollow-leaved herbs that regrow repeatedly after cutting — snipping the leaves actually stimulates fresh growth rather than exhausting the plant. Both the mild onion-scented foliage and the vivid purple globe-shaped flower heads are fully edible.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Genus: Allium
Species: Allium schoenoprasum