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Onion

Also known as onion plant, Allium cepa L.

The onion (Allium cepa , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified as a separate species until 2011. The onion's close relatives include garlic, scallion, leek, and chives.

OverviewAI-generated

Allium cepa is a species within the genus Allium of the family Amaryllidaceae. It is classified as a useful plant and serves as the source for the garden onion, also known by common names such as 洋蔥, Ui, cibule kuchyňská, and цыбуля. The taxon is described by the source Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition and has the author citation L. Its fruit type is a capsule, and it is pollinated by Apis cerana.

The organism has uses as a medicinal plant, spice, and food. Its taxon range includes China, Fujian, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Guangdong. Data regarding this species is maintained by WikiProject Plants and WikiProject Food and drink, and it appears on the focus list of Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4. Additional records include 10342 PubMed entries and 38874 iNaturalist observations.

Synthesized by Vinony from 34 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, PubMed, iNaturalist, Plants of the World, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

wild garlic

species

FamilyAmaryllidaceae

Native toAfghanistan, Alabama, Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Algeria, Altay, Amur, Arizona, Arkansas, Assam

Observations38,874

Dieser Artikel behandelt die Gemüsepflanze. Zu weiteren Bedeutungen siehe Zwiebel (Begriffsklärung). Die (in Österreich, Bayern und Schwaben auch der) Zwiebel (Allium cepa), auch Zwiebellauch, Bolle, Zipolle, Speisezwiebel, Küchenzwiebel, Gartenzwiebel, Sommerzwiebel, Hauszwiebel oder Gemeine Zwiebel genannt, ist eine Pflanzenart aus der Gattung Lauch (Allium). Der Ausdruck Zwiebel bezeichnet sowohl die Pflanzenart als auch ihren verkürzten Spross, das typische unterirdische Speicherorgan, das auch von anderen Pflanzenarten gebildet wird (siehe Zwiebel als Pflanzenteil). In der Umgangssprache wird die genaue Bedeutung oft nicht beachtet. In der Botanik muss immer klar sein, ob von der Art Allium cepa oder von einem Pflanzenorgan die Rede ist. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Beschreibung 2 Chromosomenzahl 3 Herkunft und Verbreitung 4 Wirtschaftliche Bedeutung 5 Kultur 5.1 Anbau und Ernte 5.2 Trivialnamen und Wortherkunft 6 Verwendung 6.1 Küche 6.2 Zwiebeln als Fleischzartmacher 6.3 Gemüsezwiebeln 6.4 Silberzwiebeln 7 Inhaltsstoffe 8 Verwendung als Heilpflanze 9 Allergiepotenzial 10 Geschichte 10.1 Quellen 10.2 Historische und künstlerische Darstellungen 11 Siehe auch 12 Literatur 13 Weblinks 1

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Research

10,342 papers

Onion: nature protection against physiological threats.ReviewCritical reviews in food science and nutrition · 2015Suleria HA, Butt MS, Anjum FM et al.DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2011.646364
Red onion skin active ingredients, extraction and biological properties for functional food applications.ReviewFood chemistry · 2022Chadorshabi S, Hallaj-Nezhadi S, Ghasempour ZDOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.132737
Lactic acid fermentation of osmo-dehydrated onion.Food chemistry · 2023Grzelak-Błaszczyk K, Czarnecki A, Klewicki R et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.133954
Testosterone in Males as Enhanced by Onion (Allium Cepa L.).ReviewBiomolecules · 2019Banihani SADOI: 10.3390/biom9020075
Valorization of onion wastes and by-products using deep eutectic solvents as alternate green technology solvents for isolation of bioactive phytochemicals.ReviewFood research international (Ottawa, Ont.) · 2025Jaganmohanrao LDOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2025.115980
Seleno-compounds in garlic and onion.ReviewJournal of chromatography. A · 2006Arnault I, Auger JDOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2006.01.036
Biosynthesis of the flavour precursors of onion and garlic.ReviewJournal of experimental botany · 2004Jones MG, Hughes J, Tregova A et al.DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erh138
Extraction, derivatization and antioxidant activities of onion polysaccharide.Food chemistry · 2022Zhou S, Huang G, Huang HDOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.133000

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~29 min read

Encyclopedic overview

28 sections

Contents

Taxonomy and etymology
Description
History
Uses
Culinary
Other uses
Composition
Nutrients
Phytochemicals
Adverse effects and toxicity
Eye irritation
Other effects
Producing onions
Cultivation
Pests and diseases
Production
Storage
Varieties
Common onion group (var. ''cepa'')
Aggregatum group (var. ''aggregatum'')
Hybrids with ''A. cepa'' parentage
In popular culture
See also
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

The genus contains several other species variously called onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion Allium fistulosum, the tree onion Allium × proliferum, and the Canada onion Allium canadense. The name wild onion is applied to a number of Allium species, but A. cepa is exclusively known from cultivation. Its ancestral wild original form is not known, although escapes from cultivation have become established in some regions. The onion is most frequently a biennial or a perennial plant, but is usually treated as an annual and harvested in its first growing season.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Onion” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.