I recently became involved in a project here in Tucson, Arizona with Mission Garden dealing with a small-bulbed shallot (I’itoi sivol, < 6 g, dry following harvest) that is grown mostly in kitchen gardens by the indigenous peoples of southern Arizona (Tohono O’odham). Bulbs are typically planted in late summer and are harvested in late May.
The assumption has been that it was brought here by Europeans (perhaps Jesuit missionaries who mostly came from western Europe, late 1600s-), but very few details are recorded and lots is just assumed. Of course, it could also have come here during the Mexican period (early 1800s), or may have been brought by other Europeans after the 1850s into the 1900s? I’ve been tasked with trying to fill in as much as I can of its origin story. It rarely flowers here (32.25◦ N) and when it does, no seed are produced. Also, it does not produce bulbils in the inflorescence.
My best guess is that it is an old small French shallot (Echalote ordinaire), perhaps the variety known as Echalote petite hative de Bagnolet, which had (has?) very small bulbs. Any ideas on possible sources would be most appreciated. I would love to grow this line along with potential source materials and compare their performance. I appreciate the difficulties involved in importing bulbs into the USA. It would be great if source materials could be obtained within the USA, but I’ll import them through APHIS if necessary.
