Welsh onion

Naming

Other names that may be applied to this plant include green onion, spring onion, scallion, escallion, and salad onion. These names are ambiguous, as they may also be used to refer to any young green onion stalk, whether grown from Welsh onions, common onions, or other similar members of the genus "Allium". The species is very similar in taste and odor to the related common onion, "Allium cepa", and hybrids between the two exist. The Welsh onion, however, does not develop bulbs, and possesses hollow leaves and scapes. Large varieties of the Welsh onion resemble the leek, such as the Japanese 'negi', whilst smaller varieties resemble chives. Many Welsh onions can multiply by forming perennial evergreen clumps. Next to culinary use, it is also grown in a bunch as an ornamental plant.

Historically, the Welsh onion was known as the "cibol". In Cornwall they are known as chibbles.

The name "Welsh onion" has become a misnomer in modern English, as "Allium fistulosum" is not indigenous to Wales or particularly common in Welsh cuisine. "Welsh" preserves the original meaning of the Old English word "welisc", or Old German "welsche", meaning "foreign". The species originated in Asia, possibly Siberia or China. In Wales, the spring onion has a dialectal variation, jibbons or sibwns which originates from the French 'ciboule.' The species has also become naturalized in Alaska and in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and in scattered locales in the contiguous United States.