Allium, I think I'm in love

Allium triquetrum
Cn: three-cornered leek, wild onion.

Allium triquetrum is rampant in my South Berkeley backyard. Known locally as The Berkeley Backyard Onion, A. triquetrum thrives in well-drained moist soils, and can often be found in the shade of disturbed ground. A. triquetrum is a perennial from Southern Europe, and grows via bulbs. This means if you have it in your yard, you can have onion for years and years to come! Lucky you!

A. triquetrum's flowers are companulate, pendant, and white. Inflorescences are in umbels, and each flower petal has a distinct green midvein. The leaves are triangular in cross-section, thus giving A. triquetrum its common name, three-cornerned leek. The garlicy aroma is unmistakable.

Upon inquiring about its edibility, Orlando admitted that back in his hippie days, he made a point to eat it. Huh. Maybe I will too.

I traipsed into my backyard and found some wild onion in the shade. Apparently the leaves can be used like green onion leaves and the bulbs can be prepared like garlic. I decided to keep dinner simple: a two egg scramble with a little jack cheese, salt & pepper. Oh, and a dash of almond milk. Then I added A. triquetrum bulbs (diced) and lots of chopped leaves to the mix. Upon completion, I even placed fresh flowers atop the scramble.

My foodie housemate, Alex, eagerly tasted some of my AlliYUM scramble, and said it was good--mild, with a peppery taste. We munched on the fresh leaves and flowers, and decided overall they were very mild in flavor, and incredibly palatable. I quickly decided I am never buying onions as long as this weed is around!

I have one downside for this weed, however. Like other alliums, you may want to brush your teeth after eating. Probably not a weed to eat before a date!