Taxon:  Allium cepa L.



Summary
Genus:
Allium
Subgenus:
Cepa
Section:
Cepa
Family:
Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:
Allioideae
Tribe:
Allieae
Nomen number:
2244
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 1:300.  1753
Verified:
07/09/1997 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
1761 (1016  active, 784  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum G. Don (2 active accession[s])
Allium cepa L. var. cepa (96 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Allium cumaria Buch.-Ham., nom. inval.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Seeds

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  2. Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
  3. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  4. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  5. Balick, M. J. et al. 2000. Checklist of the vascular plants of Belize, with common names and uses. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 85
  6. Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
  7. Brewster, J. L. 1994. Onions and other vegetable alliums. Crop Prod. Sci. Hort. 3:5.
  8. Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
  9. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
  10. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  11. Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
  12. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
  13. Everest, S. L. 1981. Poisonous plants of Australia. Note: poisonous
  14. FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
  15. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  16. Fritsch, R. M. & N. Friesen. 2002. Chapter 1. Evolution, domestication and taxonomy. In: Rabinowitch, H. D. & L. Currah, eds., Allium crop science: recent advances 5-30. Note: recognizes three crop groups: Common onion group, Ever-ready onions and Aggregatum group
  17. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  18. Hoang, H.-D. et al. 1997. Additional notes to the checklist of Korean cultivated plants (5). Consolidated summary and indexes. Genet. Resources Crop Evol. 44:353.
  19. Huo, Y.-M. et al. 2019. Complete chloroplast genome sequences of four Allium species: comparative and phylogenetic analyses. Sci. Rep. 9:12250. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48708-x. www.nature.com/srep/
  20. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
  21. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
  22. International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
  23. Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
  24. Kala, C. P. et al. 2004. Prioritization of medicinal plants on the basis of available knowledge, existing practices and use value status in Uttaranchal, India. Biodivers. & Conservation 13:459.
  25. Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
  26. Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
  27. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
  28. Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants Note: poisonous
  29. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  30. Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
  31. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  32. Mansfeld, R. 1959. Die Kulturpflanze, Beiheft 2.
  33. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  34. Messiaen, C.-M. et al. 1993. Les Allium alimentaires reproduits par voie végétative. 1-230.
  35. Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:75.
  36. Munro, D. B. Canadian poisonous plants information system (on-line resource).
  37. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  38. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  39. Peterka, H. et al. 1997. Interspecific hybrids between onion (Allium cepa L.) with S-cytoplasm and leek (Allium ampeloprasum L.). Theor. Appl. Genet. 94:383-389. Note: triploid hybrids from Allium cepa and A. ampeloprasum carried S-cytoplasm of onion conferring CMS
  40. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  41. Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:64-71.
  42. Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
  43. Sulistiarini, D. et al. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12:98.
  44. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
  45. Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands.
  46. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
  47. Yusupov. Z. et al. 2021. Phylogenomics of Allium section Cepa (Amaryllidaceae) provides new insights on domestication of onion. Pl. Diversity 43:102-110. DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2020.07.008. Note: formerly Plant diversity and resources
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishbulb onion  1Havey, M. J. 1991. Phylogenetic relationships among cultivated Allium species from restriction enzyme analysis of the chloroplast genome. Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:752-757. Note: this study included five USDA accessions (PI 172703, PI 207456, PI 227346, PI 260793, and PI 293756); it found evidence of close affinity between Allium cepa and A. fistulosum
Englishcommon onion  1Fritsch, R. M. & N. Friesen. 2002. Chapter 1. Evolution, domestication and taxonomy. In: Rabinowitch, H. D. & L. Currah, eds., Allium crop science: recent advances 5-30. Note: recognizes three crop groups: Common onion group, Ever-ready onions and Aggregatum group
Englishonion  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishshallot  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Arabicbasal  2Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Italiancipolla  2International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Swedishlök  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Koreanogba  2Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:75.
Transcribed Koreanyangba  2Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:75.
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
2CultivatedAfrica Africa  PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateCaucasusArmenia  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateCaucasusAzerbaijan  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateCaucasusRussian Federation-CiscaucasiaCiscaucasia Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateChinaChina  Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaKorea  Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:75.
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaTaiwan  Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKazakhstan  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKyrgyzstan  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTajikistan  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTurkmenistan  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaUzbekistan  Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateRussian Far EastRussian Federation-Far EastFar East Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Eastern SiberiaEastern Siberia Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Western SiberiaWestern Siberia Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaIndochina  Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:64-71.
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalMalesiaPhilippines  Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:64-71.
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalPapuasiaPapua New Guinea  Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:64-71.
2CultivatedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
2CultivatedEurope Europe  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedNorthern America Canada  FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
2CultivatedNorthern America Mexico  Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
2CultivatedNorthern America United States  FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
2CultivatedSouthern AmericaBrazilBrazil  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanWest Indies  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedSouthern AmericaCentral AmericaCentral America  Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Cultivated
Africa
  • REGION: Africa
Asia-Temperate
  • CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
  • SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
  • MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East]
  • CHINA: China
  • EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Taiwan
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
  • PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
  • INDO-CHINA: Indochina
  • MALESIA: Philippines
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
Europe
  • REGION: Europe
Northern America
  • REGION: Canada, Mexico, United States
Southern America
  • CARIBBEAN: West Indies
  • CENTRAL AMERICA: Central America
  • BRAZIL: Brazil

Reference(s)
  1. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  2. Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
  3. FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
  4. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  5. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  6. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  7. Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:75.
  8. Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:64-71.
  9. Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
  10. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Medicinesfolklore Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore Kala, C. P. et al. 2004. Prioritization of medicinal plants on the basis of available knowledge, existing practices and use value status in Uttaranchal, India. Biodivers. & Conservation 13:459.
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Medicinesfolklore Sulistiarini, D. et al. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12:98.
Vertebrate poisonsmammalsto livestockKingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammalsto livestockKellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammalsto livestockCooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammalsto livestockLampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammalsto livestockEverest, S. L. 1981. Poisonous plants of Australia. Note: poisonous
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=2244. Accessed 13 May 2026.