Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Garlic🌿
Allium sativum
ニンニク
A perennial (treated as annual in cultivation) native to Central Asia. The bulb is used for food and medicine, prized for its strong aroma and flavor in Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine. Allicin, a sulfur compound, is said to have antibacterial, immune-boosting, and fatigue-recovery effects. Aomori Prefecture is the main production area in Japan.
Identification Points
- ✓Bulb is a compound bulb composed of multiple cloves
- ✓Leaves are flat and linear in cross-section (unlike the tubular leaves of onion)
- ✓Flower stalk tip curls to form 'garlic scape'
- ✓Flowers form a spherical umbel similar to onion, but rarely produce seeds
Habitat
Fields and farmland
Season
Autumn planting: October–November, harvest the following May–June
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Linear
Growth form
Herb
Petal count
3 petals
Petal fusion
Free
Habitat
Cultivated
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Aromatic
None
Phylogenetic Positionヒガンバナ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Asparagales > Amaryllidaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene
Evolution Notes
During domestication, garlic lost the ability to reproduce by seed and became specialized in vegetative propagation via cloves. Allicin is a dynamic defensive compound generated by enzymatic reaction when tissue is damaged.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification