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The Taiwan bunching onion (Allium x wakegi) belongs to Loliaceae (the Lily family). The Bunching onion has been cultivated in Japan and other countries since ancient times. It is primarily widespread in western Japan. On the other hand, this "Taiwan bunching onion" is considered a southern variety of the bunching onion. It is cultivated in Taiwan and Japan's Okinawa Prefecture. Its characteristics include continued growth during winter and an earlier transition to bulb formation compared to mainland-type "bunching onion". However, when grown outside Taiwan, its seed bulbs tend to be poorly developed, remain in an unstable dormant state, and have poor storage quality. Consequently, seed bulb production is unstable in Okinawa Prefecture, which lacks a dry season, leading to imports of seed bulbs from Taiwan. Additionally, "Taiwan bunch onion" is reportedly divided into three variety groups: Taiwan large-leaf, Zhu cong (Pearl Onion), and Taiwan small-leaf. In Japan, it is also known by the alternative names "Hatsuka-negi" (twenty-day onion) or "Hatsuka-wakegi" (twenty-day bunch onion).
This content cites the "Research on Intraspecific Variation in Wakegi" conducted by the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, among others.
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