Close-up of Chinese chive blossoms and a bumblebee. Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum), also called garlic chives or nira, is a hardy perennial plant, considered noxious and invasive in some countries (Australia). It has flat dark green leaves with white flowers. Its taste is between garlic and chives. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. Flowers are considered decorative. In cold climates, leaves and stalks completely die back to the ground in the winter, and re-sprout from roots or rhizomes in the spring. A. tuberosum blooms later than most native or naturalized species of Allium (onions).