Liliaceae
Allium cepa
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Onion on:
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| Other Names for this Plant |
Garden Onion, Sibuyas (in Tagalog), Basla(Maltese), Bulb Onion
Native to South Asia
The rounded edible bulb of this plant, composed of fleshy, tight, concentric leaf bases having a pungent odor and taste. A cool-season biennial. Among the hardiest and oldest garden-vegetable plants, onions bear a cluster of small, greenish white flowers on one or more leafless stalks. The leaf base swells to form the underground mature edible onion. These plants are characterized by an edible bulb composed of food-storage leaves that are rich in sugar and a pungent oil, the source of its strong taste. The above-ground green leaves, typically long and tubular, are also eaten. Tubular, waxy leaves, which are dark green on the aerial part; at the base (tunic), they are thin, wrap over and protective on the outside, while they are meaty on the inside, and they accumulate reserve substances in order to form the bulb. The floral stalk is rigid, hollow, and waxy and the plant is over a meter tall, with an umbrella inflorescence and spherical shape. The hermaphrodite flowers are white, the fruit a capsule. Reproduction occurs through the seeds. |
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One First-Leaves (Monocots) |
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Half Capsule Seed Division |
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Magnolia Division |
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Seed Plants |
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Multiple Spore Sub-Kingdom |
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Multicellular Land Plants |
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The onion was one of the first plants to be cultivated for food and medicine. It is very widely cultivated in most parts of the world for its edible bulb and leaves, there are many named varieties capable of supplying bulbs all the year round
The onion was introduced to NorthAmerica by Christopher Columbus on his 1492expedition to Hispaniola. Onions were also prescribed by doctors in the early 1500s to help with infertility in women, and even dogs and cattle and many other household
pets. However, recent evidence has shown that dogs, cats, and other animals should not be given onions in any form, due to toxicity during digestion.
Medicinal Uses: Anthelmintic, Anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, arminative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, homeopathy, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, lithontripic, skin, stings, stomachic, tonic.Although rarely used specifically as a medicinal herb, the onion has a wide range of beneficial actions on the body and when eaten (especially raw) on a regular basis will promote the general health of the body. The bulb is anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, ebrifuge,
hypoglycemic, hypotensive, lithontripic, stomachic, and tonic. When used regularly in the diet it offsets tendencies towards angina, arteriosclerosis, and heart attack. It is also
useful in preventing oral infection and tooth decay. Baked onions can be used as a poultice to remove pus from sores. Fresh onion juice is a very useful first aid treatment for bee and wasp stings, bites, grazes, or fungal skin complaints. When warmed the juice can be dropped into the ear to treat earache. It also aids the formation of scar tissue on wounds, thus speeding up the healing process, and has been used as a cosmetic to remove freckles. Bulbs of red cultivars are harvested when mature in the summer and used to make a homeopathic remedy. This is used particularly in the treatment of people whose symptoms include running eyes and nose.Doctors were known to prescribe onions to facilitate bowelmovements and erection, and also to relieve headaches, coughs, snakebite and hair loss.
Food Uses: Bulb - raw or cooked. A very versatile food, the bulb can be 10cm or more in diameter and is widely used in most countries of the world. Eaten raw, it can be sliced up
and used in salads, sandwich fillings etc, it can be baked or boiled as a vegetable in its own right and is also commonly used as a flavoring in soups, stews and many other cooked dishes. Some cultivars have been selected for their smaller and often hotter bulbs and these are used for making pickles. Leaves - raw or cooked. There are some cultivars, the spring onions, that have been selected for their leaves and are used in salads whilst
still young and actively growing - the bulb is much smaller than in other cultivars and is usually eaten with the leaves. By succession sowing, they can be available at any time
of the year. Flowers - raw. Used as a garnish on salads. The flowers are somewhat dry and are less pleasant than many other species. The seeds are sprouted and eaten. They have a delicious onion flavor.
Onions is one of the most important ingredient in filipino recipes. it is called sibuyas in tagalog. it is usually use for sauteing and goes hand in hand with garlic and tomatoes in most filipino dishes
Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack. These are often served as a side serving in fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom. Onions are widely-used in India, and are fundamental to Indian cooking. They are commonly used as a base for curries, or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish
Other Notes: The juice of the plant is used as a moth repellent and can also be rubbed onto the skin to repel insects. The plant juice can be used as a rust preventative on metals and as a polish for copper and glass. A yellow-brown dye is obtained from the skins of the bulbs. Onion juice rubbed into the skin is said to promote the growth of hair and to be a remedy for baldness. It is also used as a cosmetic to get rid of freckles. The growing plant is said to repel insects and moles. A spray made by pouring enough boiling water to cover 1kg of chopped unpeeled onions is said to increase the resistance of other plants to diseases and parasites
Onions and garlic were fed to 100,000 laborers (not slaves) who worked on the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops).
Some ancient Egyptian temples partially paid their workers with onions. The Ancient Egyptians worshipped it, believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life. Onions were even used in Egyptian burials as evidenced by onion traces being found in the eye sockets of Ramesses IV. They believed that, if buried with the dead, the strong scent of onions would bring breath back to the dead.
Onion was one of the ingredients mentioned in the Eber’s Papyrus. The Eber’s Papyrus (from between 1600 B.C.E. and 1550 B.C.E.), was discovered by German Egyptologist Georg Ebers in 1874 C.E. The Eber’s Papyrus is the oldest known complete medical textbook in existence. Most scholars believe that it is copy of a much earlier text, probably from around 3100 B.C.E. The Eber’s Papyrus includes information on surgery and internal medicine, including a list of more than 800 drugs.
Warniong: Due to Alk(en)ylcysteine sulfoxides found in the bulb and leaves, onions are toxic to : Cattle, horses, dogs, cats, and sheep. Symptoms of toxicity are Depression, tachycardia, weakness, cold sensitivity, lack of appetite, diarrhea, abdominal pain, anemia, death
Onion
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Onion, Allium cepa |
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