Allium Herbs – Chives, Garlic, Onions

The various species all possess the familiar sulphurous smell, but individually they are valued as vegetables, herbs, medicines and decorative garden bulbs. Unfortunately I am slightly allergic to all forms of onions and garlic but nevertheless I have learned just the amount I can tolerate so I still enjoy them in moderation.

Chives – allium schoenoprasum

Chives grow as a perennial in small clumps. They flower with a beautiful mauve or purple flower on a hollow green stem.

Uses: Mainly culinary for flavoring and garnishing where a mild onion flavor is desired. It is also a stimulant and digestive high in vitamin C. It is a popular decorative herb used for edgings and it’s great for attracting bees. Chive tea is sometimes used as a spray to prevent gooseberry mildew and apple scab. The flowers are can be used in dried flower arrangements. The fresh leaves are chopped and used as needed or the chopped leaves can be frozen in ice-cubes and used in cooking later.

Garlic – allium sativum

A white- skinned bulb, subdivided into numerous cloves. Short fat upright leaves 6-12 inches tall with a stem bearing a head of pale pink or greenish white blooms.

Uses: Flavoring, vegetable and medicinal herb that has accumulated superstitions over the centuries. It is used as an antibiotic, expectorant and digestive, and for treating high blood pressure.

Garlic in Magic & Superstition
…. all blades of grass, wood, and stone, all things are One.
Meister Eckhart

Garlic is bound to Mars and fire.  It has been thought to possess magical properties for centuries, and is widely used in charms and spells.  Most of the believed magical properties of garlic are related to speed, strength, and endurance, and for protection and to ward off evil.

It is said that if you carry a garlic clove with you when traveling over water, it will prevent you from drowning. Peeled garlic cloves can be placed in doorways and around the house for protection from illness and to keep evil at bay – especially in new homes.  Try placing a clove of garlic under the pillows of children to protect them while they are sleeping.

Legend  has it that one can rid oneself of a lovesick former lover by placing a garlic bulb with two crossed pins stuck in it at a road intersection.  Lure the lover until he crosses it, and he will lose interest.

Eating and carrying garlic is believed to enhance speed, strength, courage and endurance, and soldiers throughout history have used it for these properties when going into battle.  Garlic was also given to slaves in the past to protect them from disease and enhance their strength.

To absorb a skin disturbance, rub a cut clove of garlic on the affected area, then place it under running water to signify the washing away of the ailment in question.

Taken fromhttp://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbGarlicMag.htm

Onions – allium cepa

It is grown underground by the plant as a vertical shoot that is used for food storage, leading to the possibility of confusion with a tuber which it is not.

Uses: Onions are used by every culture and are some of the oldest known vegetables. They are rarely eaten alone, usually they are added to salads chopped or sliced or added to stews, soups or gravies.

Historically onions have been worshiped by the ancient Egyptians, believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life.

The onion was introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his 1492 expedition.