Allium sativum L.
Family
Alliaceae
Synonyms
None
Vernacular Names
|
Malaysia |
Bawang putih. |
|
English |
Garlic. |
|
Indonesia |
Bawang putih, bawang bodas (Sundanese). |
|
Papua New Guinea |
Galik (Pidgin). |
|
Philippines |
Bawang (Tagalog, Ilocano), ajos (Bisaya), ahus (Ibanag). |
|
Cambodia |
Khtüm sââ. |
|
Laos |
Kath’ièm. |
|
Thailand |
Krathiam (General), hom-tiam (Northern). |
|
Vietnam |
T[or]i. |
|
French |
Ail. |
Geographical Distributions
Allium sativum probably originated from central Asia (Tien Shan), but nowhere truly wild; cultivated all over the world at latitudes of between 5-50 in both hemispheres.
Description
Allium sativum is an erect herb, usually grown as an annual and up to 150 cm tall. The bulb is composed of (1-)4-15 lateral bulbs (cloves) and measures up to 7 cm in diametre.
There are 4-10 leaves while the blades are flat or V-shaped in transverse section.
The herb has one solid inflorescence stalk, and the inflorescence is composed solely of bulbils or of bulbils and flowers. The flowers are often rudimentary or absent, and with greenish-pink to purplish tepals. The stamens and style are shorter than tepals.
The fruit is abortive and seedless.
Ecology / Cultivation
Allium sativum prefers a slightly lower temperatures and a day length of at least 13 hours and it can be grown up to 2200 m altitude. It is grown during the dry season as too much rain will result in a high incidence of fungal diseases. It requires well-drained soils.
Line Drawing / Photograph
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References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1.
