ONIONS TEARS

Onions in India are bringing tears into the eyes of common people and even have become big elections issues from time to time. But now a new plant belonging to the onion family has been discovered in the Himalayas on Indo-Tibetan borders. Onion, garlic, chives and leeks are all plant species belonging to the same family (Liliaceae) and to the same genus (Allium). Now researchers in India have discovered a new species of the Allium genus in the Himalayas.

According to a study published in the scientific magazine PhytoKeys and conducted by scientists of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR) in New Delhi, the new plant called Allium negianum was discovered at the border area of Malari between India and Tibet. The village is located in the Niti Valley, Chamoli, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

The plant grows at 3,000 to 4,000 meters above sea level and can be found in the sandy soils along rivers and streams forming in the snow pastures of alpine meadows. In those places, the thawing snow helps transport the negianum seeds to more favorable areas.

With very limited distribution, this newly described species is restricted to the western Himalayas and has not been reported yet anywhere else in the world. Although new for scientists, the species has been known for a long time in home cultivation by local communities. While doing the research work, the team has come across various local names for this plant including Phran, Jambu, Sakua, Sungdung, and Kacho.

Only known in the western Himalayas so far, it may be under pressure from people wanting to try it. Therefore, researchers fear that a blind harvest of its leaves and bulbs for seasoning could constitute a threat to the species in nature.

Source: Himalayan News Chronicle