Allium vineale

Crow garlic
	Umbel showing bulbils and a few flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Subgenus:	A.subg.Allium
Species:	A. vineale
Binomial name
	Allium vineale; L.
Synonyms
	Synonymy Allium affineBoiss. & Heldr. ; Allium arenariumWahlenb. 1828, illegitimate homonym not L. 1753 ; Allium assimileHalácsy ; Allium campestreSchleich. ex Steud. ; Allium compactumThuill. ; Allium descendensW.D.J.Koch 1837, illegitimate homonym not L. 1753 ; Allium laxiflorumTausch ; Allium littoreumBertol. 1827, illegitimate homonym not Bertol. 1819 ; Allium margaritaceumvar.bulbiferumBatt. & Trab. ; Allium nitensSauzé & Maill. ; Allium purshiiG.Don ; Allium rilaensePanov ; Allium rotundumWimm. & Grab. 1824, illegitimate homonym not L. 1762 ; Allium sphaerocephalumCrome ex Schltdl. 1824, illegitimate homonym not L. 1753 ; Allium subvinealeWendelbo ; Allium vinealevar.affineRegel ; Allium vinealesubsp.affine(Regel) K.Richt. ; Allium vinealevar.asperiflorumRegel ; Allium vinealesubsp.asperiflorum(Regel) K.Richt. ; Allium vinealevar.bulbiferumSyme ; Allium vinealevar.capsuliferumSyme ; Allium vinealesubsp.capsuliferum(Syme) K.Richt. ; Allium vinealesubsp.compactum(Thuill.) K.Richt. ; Allium vinealevar.compactum(Thuill.) Lej. & Courtois ; Allium vinealevar.descendensNyman ; Allium vinealevar.kochiiLange ; Allium vinealesubsp.kochii(Lange) Nyman ; Allium vinealevar.multiflorumBaguet ; Allium vinealevar.nitens(Sauzé & Maill.) Nyman ; Allium vinealevar.purshii(G.Don) Regel ; Getuonis vinealis(L.) Raf. ; Porrum capitatumP.Renault ; Porrum vineale(L.) Schur ;

Allium vineale(wild garlic,onion grass,crow garlicorstag's garlic) is aperennial,bulb-forming species ofwild onion,native toEurope,northwesternAfricaand theMiddle East.^[2]The species was introduced inAustraliaandNorth America,where it has become anInvasive species.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Description[edit]

All parts of the plant have a stronggarlic odour.The undergroundbulbis 1–2 cm diameter, with a fibrous outer layer. The main (flower)stemgrows to 30–120 cm tall, bearing 2–4leavesand an apicalinflorescence2–5 cm diameter comprising a number of smallbulbilsand none to a fewflowers,subtended by a basalbract.

The leaves are slender hollowtubes,15–60 cm long and 2–4 mm thick, waxy texture, with a groove along the side of the leaf facing the stem. Although very similar with the leaves ofAllium schoenoprasum,they tend to be more fibreous, have more vertical grooves, and the grooves are more well defined than the leaves ofChives.

The inflorescence is a tight umbel surrounded by a membranous bract in bud which withers when the flowers open. Each individual flower is stalked and has a pinkish-green perianth2.5 to 4.5 mm (3⁄32to3⁄16in) long. There are sixtepals,six stamens and a pistil formed from three fused carpels. Mixed with the flowers are several yellowish-brownbulbils.

The fruit is a capsule but the seeds seldom set and propagation usually takes place when the bulbils are knocked off and grow into new plants.^[8]^[9]

Plants with no flowers, only bulbils, are sometimes distinguished as thevarietyAllium vinealevar.compactum,but this character is probably nottaxonomicallysignificant.^{[citation needed]}

Although crow's garlic has an odour similar to true garlic,A. sativum,forms flowers full of bulbils just like garlic and dies back during summer, the leaf structure is more similar to those ofchives,A. schoenoprasum,to whichA. vinealeis more closely related to than true garlic.

Die back[edit]

During summer, just like domesticatedgarlic(A. sativum), after it forms the flower, the plant dies back over the course of the last summer months and sprouts back in mid autumn when precipitations grow and temperatures drop enough.

This is one of the reasons why the plants can be quite easily spread and become a weed, because during the most intense agricultural soil mechanical interactions, the weeds are almost impossible to identify, and both the bulbs and newly formed bulbils are dormant and less susceptible to die from mechanical damage.^[10]

Uses and invasiveness[edit]

The leaves, flowers, and bulbs ofAllium vinealeare edible.^[11]While it has been suggested as a substitute for garlic, there is some difference of opinion as to whether there is an unpleasant aftertaste compared to that of common garlic (Allium sativum).^{[citation needed]}It imparts a garlic-likeflavourandodouron dairy and beef products whengrazedbylivestock.It is considered a pestilential invasiveweedin the US, asgrainproducts may become tainted with a garlic odour or flavour in the presence of aerial bulblets at the time ofharvest.^[12]^[13]^[14]Wild garlic is tolerant to herbicides, which cannot cling well to the vertical, smooth and waxy structure of its leaves.^[15]^[16]

Allium vineale'Hair', a cultivated variety, is sold as an ornamental plant in the UK and USA. It has unusual flowerheads which have purple centres and green hair-like extensions.^[17]^[18]

References[edit]

^The Plant List
^Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
^Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.)."Allium vineale".Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA).New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org,Missouri Botanical Garden,St. Louis, MO &Harvard University Herbaria,Cambridge, MA.
^"Allium vineale".County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA).Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
^"Allium vineale".Germplasm Resources Information Network.Agricultural Research Service,United States Department of Agriculture.
^Weeds Australia, Australian Weeds Committee,Allium vinealeArchived2014-03-15 at theWayback Machine
^Brewster, J. L. (2008).Onions and Other Alliums.(Wallingford: CABI Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84593-399-9.
^"Wild garlic:Allium vineale".NatureGate.Retrieved2013-12-31.
^Davies, D. (1992).Alliums: The Ornamental Onions.(Portland: Timber Press.ISBN 0-88192-241-2.
^"Allium vineale"in Weeds of Australia
^"Allium vineale".North Carolina Cooperative Extension.RetrievedMay 4,2023.The leaves, flowers, and bulbs are edible and can be used similarly to chives, although they tend to be a bit tougher.
^Eric Block, "Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science" (Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2010)
^James L. Brewster, "Onions and Other Alliums" (Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 2008)
^Dilys Davies, "Alliums: The Ornamental Onions" (Portland: Timber Press, 1992)
^Wild Garlic & Wild Onion.Clemson University. Retrieved May 12, 2013
^Block, E. (2010).Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science.(Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.ISBN 978-0-85404-190-9.
^"16 of the Prettiest Allium Varieties to Plant in Your Garden".Better Homes & Gardens.Retrieved24 June2021.
^"Buy Allium Hair Bulbs | J Parker Dutch Bulbs".jparkers.co.uk.Retrieved24 June2021.

External links[edit]

Richens, R.H. 1947. Biological flora of the British Isles:Allium vinealeL. Journal of Ecology 34, 209-226.
Jepson Manual Treatment
USDA Plants Profile
Virginia Tech Weed Guide
Allium vinealein theCalPhotosphoto database,University of California, Berkeley
"Allium vineale".Plants for a Future.
"Allium vineale"in Weeds of Australia

[1] The Plant List

[2] Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

[3] Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.)."Allium vineale".Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA).New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org,Missouri Botanical Garden,St. Louis, MO &Harvard University Herbaria,Cambridge, MA.

[4] "Allium vineale".County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA).Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.

[5] "Allium vineale".Germplasm Resources Information Network.Agricultural Research Service,United States Department of Agriculture.

[6] Weeds Australia, Australian Weeds Committee,Allium vinealeArchived2014-03-15 at theWayback Machine

[7] Brewster, J. L. (2008).Onions and Other Alliums.(Wallingford: CABI Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84593-399-9.

[NatureGate-8] "Wild garlic:Allium vineale".NatureGate.Retrieved2013-12-31.

[9] Davies, D. (1992).Alliums: The Ornamental Onions.(Portland: Timber Press.ISBN 0-88192-241-2.

[10] "Allium vineale"in Weeds of Australia

[11] "Allium vineale".North Carolina Cooperative Extension.RetrievedMay 4,2023.The leaves, flowers, and bulbs are edible and can be used similarly to chives, although they tend to be a bit tougher.

[12] Eric Block, "Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science" (Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2010)

[13] James L. Brewster, "Onions and Other Alliums" (Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 2008)

[14] Dilys Davies, "Alliums: The Ornamental Onions" (Portland: Timber Press, 1992)

[15] Wild Garlic & Wild Onion.Clemson University. Retrieved May 12, 2013

[16] Block, E. (2010).Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science.(Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.ISBN 978-0-85404-190-9.

[17] "16 of the Prettiest Allium Varieties to Plant in Your Garden".Better Homes & Gardens.Retrieved24 June2021.

[18] "Buy Allium Hair Bulbs | J Parker Dutch Bulbs".jparkers.co.uk.Retrieved24 June2021.

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Description[edit]

Die back[edit]

Uses and invasiveness[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]