Garlic is a bulb-forming member of the onion genus, grown for its pungent cloves since ancient times; it was cultivated in Mesopotamia at least 4,000 years ago. In the US it is planted in fall and harvested in early to mid-summer, and most of the nation's commercial crop comes from California. It isn't the same plant as the "wild garlic" weeds found in North American fields.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A perennial with flat, narrow leaves about 1/2–1 in (1.25–2.5 cm) wide. The flower stalk can reach about 3 ft (1 m).
- Flowers
- Pink to purple flowers bloom in summer, mixed with small in the flower head. Many varieties are sterile and set no seed.
Look-alikes
Field garlic's leaves are round and hollow, while garlic's are flat and solid. It grows wild in lawns and fields, and its flower heads are often packed with tiny bulblets about 0.2 in (5 mm) across.
Why they get mixed upIt is often called wild garlic and smells like garlic when crushed.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Farms
- Vegetable gardens
- Range
- Native to Central Asia, northeastern Iran, and the Himalayan foothills, and naturalized in Mediterranean Europe and China. In the US it is a garden and farm crop; around 2000, California grew roughly 80–90% of US commercial garlic.
- Preferred conditions
- Likes sun and loose, well-drained soil.
Growing it
- Care
- Plant cloves in fall (roughly September to early November, depending on region); the bulbs need a cold spell to form. Hardneck types send up curling flower stalks () in June, and snapping them off helps the bulb grow larger. Dig bulbs when the lower leaves turn brown.
- Propagation
- Grown from individual cloves rather than seed. The bulbils in the flower head can also be planted.
- Toxicity
- Garlic is toxic to pets. Raw garlic held against the skin can cause serious burns.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Garlic is usually split into hardneck (Allium sativum ophioscorodon), which makes scapes and suits colder climates, and softneck (Allium sativum sativum), which rarely makes scapes and stores longer.
- Varieties and forms
- Softnecks are the ones braided for storage. Hardnecks are often sold as porcelain or purple stripe garlic, and common softnecks include silverskin and artichoke.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Garlic was found in Tutankhamun's tomb, and Greek and Roman soldiers ate it.
- In Central European folklore, garlic was thought to keep vampires away.
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