SafePlants

Garlic: A Culinary Staple

Garlic, scientifically known as Allium sativum, is a widely cultivated bulb crop appreciated for its culinary uses and potential health benefits. It is also known as cultivated garlic.

Considerations for Pets

• Garlic is a bulb crop.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Scientific Name: Allium sativum L.
• Common Names: Garlic, Cultivated garlic
• Family: Alliaceae (also mentioned as Amarylidaceae)
• Synonyms:
  • Allium controversum
  • Allium longicuspis
  • Allium ophioscorodon
  • Porrum ophioscorodon
• Taxonomic Rank: Species
• Direct Children: Variety, Allium sativum var. sativum L.

Distribution and Habitat

• Cultivated garlic probably originates in central Asia.
• It is widely cultivated globally, including in the UK, South Italy, and France.
• No-till cultivation of garlic is practiced in the tropical lowland districts of western Nepal.

Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits

• Cultivated garlic is a hardy, cool-season perennial, although it may not survive extreme cold.
• Some strains produce a 2 to 3-foot flowering stalk which may produce a cluster of small cloves called bulbils.
• Softneck garlic plants do not produce a scape, and softneck bulbs generally contain.
• Grows well in free-draining loam high in organic matter.

Cultivation

• Garlic is easy to grow and can be grown year-round in mild climates.
• Growing garlic indoors is generally not successful for cultivating good-quality bulbs.
• The ground should be prepared similarly to onions.
• Prefers a free-draining loam high in organic matter.
• Keeping the soil around the plants well cultivated from March - May will give.
• Cultivated garlic plants do not produce true seed.

Quirky Facts

• France is recognized worldwide for the quality of the garlic plants it produces due to long traditions and optimum climatic conditions.
• In South Italy, garlic (Allium ampeloprasum L.) is cultivated for clove production and occasionally grown in the same field as a mixture with Allium sativum.

Interactions with Other Organisms

• Cobalt can stimulate carotenoid production in garlic leaves.
• Copper accumulation was associated with increased exudation of amino acids to the cultivation.

Resources and Further Information

• South African Garlic Growers Association
• InTechOpen
• Instituto Tecnolgico El Llano, Biotechnology Applied Laboratory