Garlic | |
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Allium sativum, known as garlic, from William Woodville, Medical Botany, 1793. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
Subfamily: | Allioideae |
Genus: | Allium |
Subgenus: | A. subg. Allium |
Species: | A. sativum
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Binomial name | |
Allium sativum | |
Synonyms | |
Synonymy
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Garlic (Allium sativum) is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive,[2] Welsh onion, and Chinese onion.[3] It is native to Central Asia, South Asia and northeastern Iran and has long been used as a seasoning worldwide, with a history of several thousand years of human consumption and use.[4][5] It was known to ancient Egyptians and has been used as both a food flavoring and a traditional medicine. China produced 73% of the world's supply of garlic in 2021.