Today's Ticky Riddles:Onions Family

which botanical family does the onion belong?
The answer is the lily family (Allium cepa).
Some stuffs about Onions....


The onion (Allium cepa L.) (Latin 'cepa' = onion), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable and is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. This genus also contains several other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion (A. fistulosum), the Egyptian onion (A. ×proliferum), and the Canada onion (A. canadense). The name "wild onion" is applied to a number of Allium species but A. cepa is exclusively known from cultivation and its ancestral wild original form is not known, although escapes from cultivation have become established in some regions. The onion is most frequently a biennial or a perennial plant, but is usually treated as an annual and harvested in its first growing season.
The onion plant has a fan of hollow, bluish-green leaves and the bulb at the base of the plant begins to swell when a certain day-length is reached. In the autumn the foliage dies down and the outer layers of the bulb become dry and brittle. The crop is harvested and dried and the onions are ready for use or storage. The crop is prone to attack by a number of pests and diseases, particularly the onion fly, the onion eelworm and various fungi that cause rotting. Some varieties of A. cepa such as shallots and potato onions produce multiple bulbs.
Onions are cultivated and used around the world. As a foodstuff they are usually served cooked, as a vegetable or part of a prepared savoury dish, but can also be eaten raw or used to make pickles or chutneys. They are pungent when chopped and contain certain chemical substances which irritate the eyes. Most onion cultivars are about 89% water, 4% sugar, 1% protein, 2% fibre and 0.1% fat. Onions contain low amounts of essential nutrients (right table), are low in fats, and have an energy value of 166kJ (40 kcal) per 100 g (3.5 oz) serving. They contribute their flavor to savory dishes without raising caloric content appreciably.

Onions contain phytochemical compounds such as phenolics that are under basic research to determine their possible properties in humans There are considerable differences between onion varieties in polyphenol content, with shallots having the highest level, six times the amount found in Vidalia onions, the variety with the smallest amount Yellow onions have the highest total flavonoid content, an amount 11 times higher than in white onions Red onions have considerable content of anthocyanin pigments, with at least 25 different compounds identified representing 10% of total flavonoid contentSome people suffer from allergic reactions after handling onionsSymptoms can include contact dermatitis, intense itching, rhinoconjunctivitis, blurred vision, bronchial asthma, sweating and anaphylaxis. There may be no allergic reaction in these individuals to the consumption of onions, perhaps because of the denaturing of the proteins involved during the cooking process.

While onions and other members of the genus Allium are commonly consumed by humans, they can be deadly for dogs, cats, guinea pigs, monkeys and

other animals^. The toxicity is caused by the sulfoxides present in raw and cooked onions, which many animals are unable to digest. Ingestion results in anaemia caused by the distortion and rupture of red blood cells. Sick pets are sometimes fed with tinned baby foods and any that contain onion should be avoided. The typical toxic doses are 5 g (0.2 oz) per kg (2.2 lb) bodyweight for cats and 15 to 30 g (0.5 to 1.1 oz) per kg for dogs.