Onion weed, Three cornered leek or Three cornered garlic

Three cornered leek or onion weed

You know onion weed is there if you walk through a patch or mow it as it lets off a strong smell of garlic or onions.  It’s flourishing now in September in NZ and my little patch of it  has just sent up beautiful bell shaped flowers (that look similar to snowflakes (most people call them snowdrops), but snowflake leaves do not smell of garlic) hang in clusters and each of the five petals of each flower has a green stripe.  The grass like leaves and flower stalks 20-50 cm tall are triangular in a cross section. The latin name Allium means garlic and triquetrum means three-angled of the stems.

Onion weed is a perennial that grows from small bulbs 1cm in diameter.  It can grow into extensive colonies that are hard to remove because the leaves are fleshy and easily break when they are pulled.  It is also hard to get all the small bulbs out.  When I lived in Palmerston North it grew en masse under my walnut tree.  Even I at that time (not appreciating weeds then) considered it a terrible weed because there was so much and it is so hard to remove.

But I did nothing and then my opinion changed through observing it and realising it is a great ground cover in the cooler months, highly nutritious while it is there and then it dies down and disappears in the dryness of summer.  I completely changed my view of it and now I delight when I see it come up in late autumn/winter for using the leaves and flowers and even the roots as tasty additions to salads, soups,

Onion weeds and their flowers

pestos, smoothies, scrambled eggs, or chopped up finely in butter.

Originating as a garden escape it was brought here by settlers from Europe.  The small bulbs can be dug up once the plant has died down and used like onions, spring onions or garlic. They can also be pickled.  This successful wild plant grows in gardens,  parks, waste places and roadsides and is found all over New Zealand.

Onion weed is not appreciated nearly enough for its

Salad including edible weeds with onion weed flowers as decoration

nutritional and medicinal qualities.  It contains sulphur which gives it the onion flavour and smell. Sulphur is needed for the synthesis of glutathione, a potent antioxidant, protecting cells from free radical damage. Onion weed also helps reduce blood cholesterol levels, acts as a digestive system tonic, stimulates the circulatory system, is antimicrobial and contains chlorophyll (cleansing in itself), fibre, vitamins and minerals.

I encourage you to take advantage of this winter/spring green that grows itself to help protect us from winter ills and then is there for an internal spring clean.  It is amazing how nature has plants growing in each season that assist us to remain healthy if we know what they are.