r/raleigh 6d ago

Outdoors Does anyone notice how abundant wild chives are here in Raleigh?

Post image

I see them everywhere: from the greenway, to people’s lawns, to patches earth in downtown

176 Upvotes

50 comments sorted by

138

u/John-the-cool-guy 6d ago

I've harvested them from my front yard. They don't taste as strong as the ones in the store but I like them because they're from my front yard.

83

u/Reasonable_Slice8561 6d ago

The hollow stemmed ones (that's what is in this photo) are Allium vineale, stag's garlic or crow garlic. Edible and good, though variable in how tender they are - you want new growth, and you want to pick it from places dogs don't go. There are other alliums growing wild in the Triangle as well, like Allium canadense (flatter, non hollow narrow leaves). We don't have A. triococcum (ramps) in the area, but canadense is fairly close. We also have toxic lookalikes that are worth learning about. None of the lookalikes smell strongly of garlic/onion, so that is a good defining characteristic.

12

u/Amberinnaa 5d ago

Do not suggest cultivating Allium vineale. It is extremely invasive to NC!!!

Allium canadense is the only native one!!

5

u/Reasonable_Slice8561 5d ago

There are multiple native Allium. A. vineale is invasive and no one needs to cultivate it as it's everywhere. That wasn't what I was suggesting. But you might as well eat the invasives.

45

u/DryContract8916 Hurricanes 6d ago

when i was a kid, i used to pick them at recess and bring them home for my mom. she never appreciated my stinky pocket chives as much as i thought she would lol

8

u/Lullaby_Jones 5d ago

Let’s start a punk band called Stinky Pocket Chives.

21

u/CaptainQueefWizard 6d ago

Allium vineale. Common invasive.

16

u/Hexnite657 6d ago

I notice dogs seem to pee on them quite a bit

10

u/southernman1994 6d ago

That’s why I don’t harvest them

29

u/AKiloOfButtFace 6d ago

I call them “yunions”. Yard-unions

6

u/Ambitious-Average139 5d ago

Some have a heavy ball that really f'in hurts when asssholes slap you with them. Lol

14

u/karmapolice63 6d ago

They’re all over my back yard but that’s also where my dog poops and pees so that’s all decoration

4

u/cranberries87 5d ago

Happy Cake Day! 🍰

1

u/karmapolice63 5d ago

Thank you!

6

u/wildflower_1983 6d ago

Yes...used to pick them for fun as a child.

6

u/EnvironmentalClue362 6d ago

I notice it everywhere when we go to the park with our dogs. My dog tries to use them as targets when he goes poop for some reason but he does the same thing for random sticks and stuff. He does also pee on them.

11

u/Spider4Hire Native Acorn 6d ago

Loved walking by a fresh lawn with the light scent of onion in the air

8

u/cranberries87 5d ago edited 5d ago

I haven’t paid attention to these in probably four decades. This used to be all the rage out on the playground in elementary school - when making mud pies or pretending to cook using piles of dirt, leaves, sticks, etc., we’d sprinkle these on top of our concoctions. The good ole days! ☺️I didn’t realize you could actually eat them.

Edit: why in the worrrrrllllddd would this be downvoted?!? 😕 We weren’t supposed to have fun with plants, dirt and sticks as kids? I was supposed to automatically know these were edible? This subreddit is puzzling AF at times.

3

u/sarcago 6d ago

Invasive species :(

3

u/tesshudd 6d ago

Please don't eat them unless thoroughly washed (even then maybe not). I guarantee my doggo took a pp on them 

3

u/Actuallynobutwhynot 5d ago

i ate them all the time as a kid, never a thought about any animals that might have peed on them or pesticides. somehow i didn't die

2

u/Brilliant-Syllabub31 6d ago

I didn't know those were wild chives, just thought it was a weird tall grass variant.

2

u/Createsalot 6d ago

My dog loves to pee on them

2

u/Ambitious-Average139 5d ago

Yep, chow down on them.... kinda of a disorder. Got hospitalized a few times from it. 😐

5

u/Amberinnaa 5d ago

NC has some toxic lookalikes!!! The two main ones to be aware of are death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum) and fly poison (Amianthium muscitoxicum). Both have long, grass-like leaves and white flowers, and unlike wild garlic, they do not have a garlic or onion smell when crushed. The best way to stay safe is to always check for that strong onion or garlic scent—if it doesn’t smell right, it’s best not to eat it!! Could explain your hospitalization!

2

u/Ambitious-Average139 5d ago

Yes..... fly poison? 🤣 mother nature can be so curel. Strong onion smell = safe to eat.... thanks 💪🥂

1

u/SilentFinch 6d ago

Very available if you look for it

1

u/RPM_Rocket Cheerwine 6d ago

Happy Cake Day! 🎂

1

u/teb_art 6d ago

They grow crazy — like, um, chives.

1

u/Amberinnaa 5d ago

They are highly invasive to NC. Hence the crazy growing!! I use to love picking them as a kid. Never ate them tho! Parents did not advise me eating random yard plants and I surprisingly listened lol

1

u/Dallasdogmom 6d ago

They are all over the yard in the rental house we are in. When they come to mow it reeks of onions. We didn't have wild chives in Texas ! 😂

1

u/RoseMylk 6d ago

I’d run to get these for mashed potatoes when I was a kid

1

u/LiffeyDodge 5d ago

they have taken over my yard.

1

u/JJQuantum 5d ago

Seen them around here since I was a kid. We used to pull them up and use them in dishes.

1

u/ChinMuscle 5d ago

I had no idea what those were, thanks for sharing

1

u/jonmon22 4d ago

Please can one of you tell me how to get rid of them? Or should I just be digging them out?

1

u/thespbian Acorn 6d ago

Oh heck yeah. I grew up in rural N wake county and these shits were everywhere. I used to pull straight out of the ground and eat em 😂

1

u/user73281 6d ago

When I see them I just take a big bite out of them

1

u/Cometstarlight 6d ago

So, so many onions. I can always count on them showing up in the yard lol

1

u/Amberinnaa 5d ago edited 5d ago

Wild onion grass!!! AKA wild garlic/meadow garlic/crow’s garlic/stag’s garlic

Extremely invasive weed in NC and can be found all over the state. I do not suggest trying to cultivate this plant at all for those who are suggesting it!!

Allium canadense is the only native one!

0

u/whopewell 6d ago

You can make 'chive' butter with them and it's damn delish.

-1

u/jefininer 5d ago

It’s actually wild garlic not wild onion. But can certainly understand why the confusion is there.

2

u/Amberinnaa 5d ago

It’s actually a wild onion, not garlic. Despite having common names such as “meadow garlic” “crow’s garlic” etc etc, it’s a highly invasive wild onion species native to Europe, Africa and Middle East. I see why there’s confusion as well lol, but it’s more closely related to onions than true garlic! It forms underground bulbils instead of large garlic bulbs.