Garlic
Allium sativum L.

Order - Liliales

Family - Liliaceae

Names:

Allium

Sativum

Garlic

Other Names:

Summary:

A perennial herb with onion like bulbs used in cooking.

Description:

Cotyledons:

Two.

Leaves:

Stipules -

Petiole -

Blade -

Stem leaves -

Stems:

Flower stem -

Flower head:

Flowers:

Ovary -

Calyx -

Perianth -

Sepals -

Petals -

Stamens -

Anthers -

Fruit:

Seeds:

Roots:

Bulb.

Key Characters:

Biology:

Life cycle:

Perennial herb.

Physiology:

Reproduction:

Flowering times:

Seed Biology and Germination:

Vegetative Propagules:

Hybrids:

Allelopathy:

Population Dynamics and Dispersal:

Origin and History:

Asia.

Introduced as a crop plant.

Distribution:

ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.

Naturalised in VIC.

Habitats:

Climate:

Temperate.

Soil:

Plant Associations:

Significance:

Beneficial:

Widely cultivated food crop.

Detrimental:

Weed of disturbed areas.

Toxicity:

Not recorded as toxic.

Legislation:

None.

Management and Control:

Thresholds:

Eradication strategies:

Herbicide resistance:

Biological Control:

Related plants:

Chinese Chives (Allium tuberosum)

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)

Crow Garlic (Allium vineale) has leaves on its flowering stem and has multiple bulbs.

Field Garlic (Allium oleraceum)

Garlic (Allium sativum)

Greathead Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum)

Leek (Allium porrum)

Naples Onion (Allium neopolitanum)

Onion (Allium cepa)

Purple-flower Garlic (Allium rotundum)

Roundhead Garlic (Allium sphaerocephalon)

Sand Leek (Allium scorodoprasum ssp. scorodoprasum)

Shallot (Allium ascalonicum)

(Allium roseum) has up to 20 pink flowers and a cylindrical stem

Allium orientale

Allium paniculatum

Allium roseum

Allium scorodoprasum ssp. rotundum

Plants of similar appearance:

Ornamental Snowdrop (Leucojum vernum) has green spots on its petals and lacks the garlic smell when crushed.

Nothoscordum inodorum does not have long pedicels supporting the flowers.

References:

Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #53.11.

Acknowledgments:

Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.