Onion Small 242×320 Medium 483×640 Large 773×1024 Download Tiff Original 1812×2400 | (1.4 MB) Description An edible bulb, produced by a biennial herb of the lily family. The plant has tubulated leaves, a pithy stalk bearing the seed, and the bulb has a strong odor and taste due to an acrid volatile oil that is destroyed by boiling. Keywords onion Galleries Vegetables Source: B. P. Holst The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopaedia (Kansas City: The Bufton Book Company, 1909)