Allium vineale (Field garlic)

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Allium vineale L.

Field garlic, wild garlic, crow garlic

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Asparagales	A diverse group that includes asparagus
Family	Amaryllidaceae	Amaryllis family—plants that grow from bulbs. Includes onions and many others
Genus	Allium	Onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, scallions, etc.
Species	vineale	Pertaining to vines, growing in vineyards

About plant names...

Field garlic, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, was introduced in Australia and North America, where it has become an invasive species in lawns, pastures, and meadows. Livestock owners don't like them in part because the strongly garlic-flavored bulbs flavor the milk and meat of grazing livestock.

Identification: Like other members of the Allium (loosely, onion) family, field garlic grows from bulbs, which are ⅜-¾″ (1-2 cm) in diameter. The main stem is 12-47″ (30-120 cm) tall, with 2-4 tubular, hollow leaves that are 1/16-⅛″ (2-4 mm) thick. The flowerhead is ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) in diameter, and rather strange-looking. It consists a rounded cluster of tiny bulbs called bulbils—on close examination, the cluster is composed of tiny, outward-pointing bulbs. The cluster is pink or purple in color. Above this cluster may be several small flowers, 1/16-⅛″ (2-5 mm) long, each with six petals, varying from pink to red or greenish-white.

Edibility: Field garlic bulbs, about ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter, taste like strong garlic. Used in modest quantities, they make a delicious addition to dishes that benefit from garlic. Or, you can pickle them.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Wikipedia

References:

Peterson, Lee Allen, Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern/Central North America, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977, p. 114

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 348

7/2/2011 · Mike and Ellen’s, Milford, Pennsylvania · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm)

Allium vineale description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

7/2/2011 · Mike and Ellen’s, Milford, Pennsylvania · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)

7/2/2011 · Mike and Ellen’s, Milford, Pennsylvania · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm)

Range: Zones 4-9:

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