Allium crops

There are seven classifications of allium crops in Australia, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Australia’s major produce markets.

• Bulb onions (Allium cepa). There are three main types of bulb onions: brown, red and white. Grown for their bulbs only.
• Garlic (Allium oleraceum). Grown for their bulbs only.
• Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum). Grown for their leaves and thickened stem.
• Spring onions (Allium fistulosum). This name means different things to different people. Proper spring onions are harvested with about 40cm of green leaves and a slightly enlarged bulb. Spring onions marketed in NSW are different as they are generally a white bulbing variety harvested when the bulb is immature and the leaves are intact.
• Shallots (Allium cepa, aggregatum). This name also means different things to different people. True shallots are grown for their bulbs only. Shallots marketed in NSW are similar to true spring onion and are harvested with about 40cm of green leaves and a slightly enlarged bulb. Shallots grown and marketed this way are also known as eschallots (Allium ascalonicum).
• Chives (Allium schoenoprasum). These are the smallest species in the allium family, grown for their leaves.