The main types of green onions are the common shallot, split onion, scallion, bearded onion and floor onion types. Taxonomically, shallots, scallions and building onions are varieties of the common shallot. The shallot type is mainly cultivated in the north, while the scallion type is cultivated more in the south.

Ordinary onion The plant is tall, weak in tillering, with the leaf sheath and leaf body as the product organs. Leaf sheaths fleshy sweet and crisp, can flower and fruit, with seed reproduction, many varieties, large cultivation area, there are many production areas in the north of China. According to its pseudostem height is divided into long onion white type and short onion white type, the former, such as zhangqiu onion, gaixian onion, high foot white, valley onion, etc., and the latter, such as chicken leg onion, onion on the leaf, etc..

Split onion A variant of the common onion, the plant is dwarfed, the pseudostem is thin and short, strong tiller, more than one branch reproduction, to eat the young leaves, onion leaves are long and thin, dark green, 2 to 3 tillers per plant, a single plant weighs 100 to 150 grams, the stems and leaves spicy flavor, good quality, strong cold resistance.

Floor onions, also known as dragon's claw onions, goat's horns onions, etc., belonging to a variant of onions, plants upright, tillers and strong resistance, characterized by variability of flowers, when the flower shoots grow to 33 to 50 cm high, do not bloom seeds, and the formation of many aerial bulbs, sprouting into many small onions, continue to elongate around 20 centimeters, and then the top of the small bulbs, so that the overlap of the building, so it is called the building of the onions. The aerial bulbs can be used as propagation material. The edible part is the short green onion leaves and white onion, the quality is not good, the outer skin of the leaf sheath is reddish brown, the inner layer is white, and the pungent flavor is strong. Cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and have a certain degree of salt tolerance, so it is suitable for cultivation in arid areas.

Scallion, also known as the four seasons of scallion, for the varieties of green onions, tender texture, spicy and sweet flavor, aroma, excellent quality, can flower and fruit, commonly used seed reproduction, in the South can be four seasons of production, in addition to fresh food for seasoning, but also dehydrated vegetables processing of the excellent varieties.

Hu onion, also known as fire onion, garlic onion and petal onion, strong tiller, light green leaves, thin and shorter than onion leaves, bulbs developed into clusters of about 10 to 20, the base is connected. Summer above ground withered, to bulbs over the summer, can be used as breeding material, can draw shoots and flowers but does not bear seeds. Green leaves can be eaten, bulbs are mostly used for pickling.

Scallion products contain carbohydrates, protein, vitamin C and phosphorus, not only nutritious, but also because of its leaf cells contain propylene sulfide, and thus has a pungent aromatic odor, raw and cooked food are superior, and has a certain medicinal value, with the role of enhancing appetite and preventing cardiovascular disease.