Recently, in vegetable gardens and summer cottages you can see an unusual plant with a beautiful spherical flower of purple color and wide leaves. “What kind of strange flower is this?” Passers-by are surprised. It turns out it's a aflatun bow. This plant came to us from the mountains and is named after the Aflatun Pass, where it was distributed. In some countries, this onion is listed in the Red Book because of its scarcity.
Plant description
Looking at this unusual plant, one cannot but admire its beauty. After all, it would seem that ordinary, seemingly a bit large garlic, but in fact, it turns out, is a beautiful decorative onion. At first glance, the bulbs of this plant are somewhat reminiscent of a huge head of garlic or a tulip bulb. It’s just that a completely unfamiliar plant grows out of it - Aflatun onion, whose useful properties are equated with those of ginseng.
Green shoots are the very first to emerge from the ground in early spring, probably along with snowdrops. It happens that the snow will not come off yet, but green elastic seedlings peep out from under the snow cover. Powerful broad leaves (often 5-7 pieces) of saturated green color grow quite large. They can reach 10 cm in width, very smooth, pleasant to the touch.
After the warm weather is established, the peduncle is shown. In height, it can reach 150 cm. A large purple flower that blooms in late May - June, rests on a thick, empty leg inside. This leg is very dense, withstands strong gusts of wind without breaking. The inflorescence in the form of a ball consists of many small flowers, stars. At the end of flowering, seed boxes appear in their place, which can be collected for further propagation.
The flower emits a pleasant light aroma that does not look like anything. In addition, this smell is very attractive to bees.
Growing conditions and methods
This plant, in principle, is unpretentious. It can withstand very low temperatures (up to -35 degrees), but it may not wait for the onset of summer heat - a short flowering period makes itself felt. Aflatun onion grows both in lighted areas and in the shade. But the sun, of course, is preferable for him. As practice shows, the earth also approaches different. He feels great in the mountains, sandy soils and in chernozems.
This plant is perennial, propagated either by dividing the bulbs, or seeds. It is necessary to plant its bulbs in the fall, when they dry out after digging. If the bulb is divided, an independent plant will grow from each part. Bulb division occurs almost annually. But you can transplant it either every year or once every 2-3 years.
If the bulbs are not there (you came to visit, saw a flower and want to plant such an onion at home), you can collect the seeds from the peduncle that appear at the end of flowering. True, this method of planting is very long, because in this case the plant will begin to bloom in 2-4 years.
Experienced flower growers love Aflatun onions, the cultivation of which does not bring any special problems. And he is not susceptible to morbidity. The only drawback is that before flowering, its leaves turn yellow and dry, which can look ugly on an organized flowerbed or slide.
Aflatun Onion: Useful Properties
Like any relative of this plant, this onion contains a lot of useful substances. For example, it contains more solids than in ordinary onion, and vitamin C - almost 4 times more. This product also contains vitamins D and E, which prevent rickets from developing, prevent the incidence of cancer, and strengthen the immune system.
This variety of onions is used for spasms of the brain, it also improves vision well. Its use is good for cases of gastric morbidity and colds. By the way, if you squeeze juice from this onion and rub it into the scalp, the hair will grow better.
Application
It would seem, where can I use an ordinary onion? Unless in cooking. However, it is not. Aflatunsky onion is very good for decorative purposes - cut flowers are placed in vases or introduced into various bouquets. So, a freshly cut flower can stand for 2 weeks in water, and if dried, then all winter.
Very often, such onions are grown on slides or flower beds as a very beautiful flower. Its bright, large inflorescences are visible very well. One tip from gardeners: plant this plant in the center of the flower bed so that other flowers can close an ugly dry leaf.
It is very good to plant this unusual "lucidum" where there is an apiary nearby - it is considered a honey plant and bees love it very much. Aflatun onion is also very good for traditional medicine. The use of its juice or the use of food will certainly give its results.
Aflatunsky onion - is it possible to eat?
The main question remains open - is it possible to eat this plant? Those who breed this plant claim that it tastes like garlic. But edible leaves do not last long. When the peduncle appears, the leaves are already inedible. They can be eaten only when they have just appeared. In addition, the young leaves are very juicy, fleshy, will be a great addition to the spring salad. They will give the body a lot of useful vitamins, which are essential during vitamin deficiency.
In addition, the onions of this onion are consumed. They can be baked, pickled (keeping at the same time in water for about 2 weeks, in other sources - up to 50 days), cook on honey. But it is worth remembering that in order to avoid allergies and poisoning, you should not use more than 3 grams of this onion.
Conclusion
As you can see, even such a seemingly simple and familiar plant, like onions, can surprise. A few years ago, nobody really knew anything about a beautiful decorative flower. Even experienced gardeners were presented with it like wild garlic, giant garlic ... It was they who learned where this incredible fragrant and healthy bulb came from.
Even if you do not dare to eat this plant for food - do not worry. Its appearance will more than replace your desire to eat it, because the Aflatun bow is a very beautiful and prominent "guy" in the garden.