From Missouri Botanical Garden: “Allium sativum, commonly called garlic, is a bulbous perennial of the onion family. It is native to the Mediterranean area. Foliage consists of aromatic, linear, flattened, grass-like green leaves. In some varieties, a central scape topped by an umbel of pinkish-white flowers rises from each clump of leaves to 18" tall in summer. Garlic is typically grown as an annual in herb and vegetable gardens for its segmented bulbs which are commonly used in cooking.
Garlic comes in two varieties: hardneck (designated as Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon) and softneck (designated as Allium sativum var. sativum). Hardneck varieties typically produce a flower stalk, with flowers giving way to a seed cap. Each bulb typically contains 4-10 cloves (bulb is smaller but cloves are larger than those of softneck). Hardneck varieties come in three different types: Rocambole, Poreclain and Purple Stripe. By contrast, softneck garlic plants typically do not produce a flower stalk. They produce bulbs with smaller but more numerous cloves than hardneck garlic plants. Each bulb typically contains 12-20 cloves. Softneck plants are also braidable (bulbs can be braided together into attractive chains by weaving the soft grass-like tops together). Softneck garlic varieties are the ones most often commonly sold in supermarkets because they typically have a much longer shelf life than hardnecks. Softneck varieties come in two different types: Silverskin and Artichoke.
“Genus name comes from the classical Latin name for garlic.
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