Chives are easy-to-grow, cool-season perennial herbs, in the Amaryllidaceae family [traditional sources classify Alliums in the Amaryllidaceae family, though there is some modern debate over the proper family for Allium classification. The USDA currently classifies them in the Liliaceae family.] (related to leeks, garlic, and onions) that grow in lush grass-like clumps and rise from a cluster of small bulbs, 12 to 15 inches tall. [There are at least 500 species in the Allium genus. Many of the early relatives of plants in the Allium family are still found growing near water in the mountains of the Northern hemisphere.] Native to Asia, Europe, and North America, chives have been cultivated for over 5,000 years and used for culinary purposes (fresh or dried), medicinal practices, and ornamental appeal.
All parts of this herb are edible - the mild onion flavor of its scapes (the long and slender green, hollow stems), [the tiny bulbs], and the pale purple, globe-shaped flowers, used as a garnish for soups and salads. Once established in mild climates, as in California, chives will grow for many seasons.
Medicinally, chives were used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine to promote sweating and male fertility. The Romans believed chives could remedy pains from sunburn, sore throat, increase blood pressure and act as a diuretic. In the Middle Ages, chives were lauded as a cure for melancholy and believed to drive away evil spirits. Romanian Gypsies used chives in fortune telling; believing that bunches of dried chives hung around a house would ward off disease and evil. Today, chives are still used in many of same ways, except perhaps in banishing evil spirits or promoting male fertility.