Scallion

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{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = Scallion | image = Scallion.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = A common scallion | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Liliopsida | ordo = Asparagales | familia = Alliaceae | genus = Allium }}

Image:Spring onion.jpg Image:Allium ascalonicum flower.jpg

"Most folks call them green onions but they're really scallions" -- Stan Freberg, Christmas Dragnet

The common name scallion is associated with various members of the genus Allium that lack a fully-developed bulb. They tend to be milder tasting than other onions and are typically used raw in salads in western cookery. Diced scallion are often used in soup, noodle, seafood, and sauce in eastern cookery.

Scallions are also known as green onions in American English and spring onions in places where Commonwealth English is commonly used, with certain exceptions. In parts of Australia they are known as either 'eschallots' (silent 'e') or 'spring onions' depending on the region. In Scotland, they are referred to as 'Cibies', and Northern Ireland adheres to 'scallion'. The Republic of Ireland and Jamaica are believed to be the only two countries in which they are widely known by their correct term, scallions. Confusingly, the term "green onion" can also be used for immature specimens of the ordinary onion Allium cepa.

The species most commonly associated with the name is the Welsh onion, Allium fistulosum. The name can also be used for Allium ascalonicum, better known as the shallot. The words "scallion" and "shallot" are related and can be traced back to the Greek askolonion as described by the Greek writer Theophrastus; this name, in turn, seems to originate from the Philistine town of Ascalon (modern-day Ashkelon in Israel). The shallots themselves apparently came from farther east. [1]

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