Allium schoenoprasum L.
Chive, wild chives
Chives are native to temperate regions around the world. Their cultivation dates back 5,000 years, though wild chives are also edible, and may even pop up in your lawn.
Plants: 8–20″ (20–50 cm) tall.
Leaves: Plants are composed of clusters of erect, round, hollow leaves, 1/32–¼″ (1–7 mm) thick. Sometimes the tubular leaves are unevenly curled. The clear odor of onions in a crushed leaf is a sure indicator.
Flowers: Globe- or dome-shaped, composed of many small tubes, pale to deep purple-pink in color. Each flowerhead has up to 30 tiny flowers. Flowers appear from April to May.
Fruits: Three-lobed capsules.
Edibility: Chives are a popular culinary herb used for centuries, valued for the mild onion flavor of its leaves. Flowers and roots are also edible. There are other plants with tubular, hollow leaves, but any plant that smells like onion or garlic is edible. The tender shoots taste best. Older woody stalks won’t do you any harm, but they don’t taste as good. (Consumption of large quantities of chives by some animals, especially dogs, may result in poisoning. But I have never seen a dog pay any attention at all to chives.)
Habitats: Roadsides, disturbed soils, lawns, gardens.
Allium schoenoprasum (a) and Allium cepa (b). 
Online References:
4/11/2011 · Susan and Raimond’s, Phoenix, Maryland 
3/2/2011 · North Central Railroad Trail, Gunpowder Falls State Park, Baltimore, Maryland · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 14 cm) 
5/5/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 10″ (20 × 25 cm) 
4/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) 
5/6/2016 · Long Cove Cottages, Tenant’s Harbor, Maine 
5/27/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Liliidae | Includes lilies, orchids, and many others |
| Order | Asparagales | A diverse group that includes asparagus |
| Family | Amaryllidaceae | Amaryllis family—plants that grow from bulbs. Includes onions and many others |
| Genus | Allium | Onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, scallions, etc. |
| Species | schoenoprasum | Schoenos from schoinos, a rush, reed; prason for “leek” |
Allium schoenoprasum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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