An unusual perennial onion, it gets its common name from the way it “walks” across the garden.  Harvested late summer through early fall.

Instead of flowers, this plant produces topsets, a cluster of bulbils, at the top of the stalk where the flowers and seeds would normally be. The stalks eventually flop over from the weight of the bulbils (if not harvested) and replant themselves, thus beginning their “walk” across the ground. It is thought to be originally native to India or Pakistan, then later introduced into Europe by the Romans.

The bulblets of the Egyptian walking onion can be eaten raw or cooked. They can be pickled or sliced into salads. The smaller onion blades on the plant can be used like chives, but the bulb of the parent plant is tough-skinned and pungent.