Japanese name: リーキ Scientific name:Allium ampeloprasum
[Overview]
A bulbous perennial treated as an annual.
A bulb forms underground.
The leaves are 60–80 cm long and about 5 cm wide, flat, and keeled.
The leaf sheath is a short, thick tube, and reaches about 20 cm in length when blanched.
The flower stalk is about 1.5 m tall and bears a large spherical umbel at its tip.
The flowers are numerous and bell-shaped, in pale to deep purplish red.
It was formerly regarded as an independent species, Allium porrum, but is now classified as one of three groups belonging to A. ampeloprasum, together with kurat and great-headed garlic.
[History]
There are records of its cultivation in ancient Egypt, and it is also mentioned in the Bible.
It came to Japan in the early Meiji period.
[Cultivation]
It prefers a cool climate.
A fertile clay loam rich in organic matter is suitable, and a soil acidity of pH 7.8–8.0 is said to be good.
Propagation is vegetative, by bulbs.
