Editing Garlic (section)

==Taxonomy==
Identification of the wild progenitor of common garlic is difficult due to the sterility of its many [[cultivars]], which limits the ability to [[test cross|cross test]] with wild relatives.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}{{efn|Fertility restoration in garlic strains have been successful by physiological manipulation in some strains, but there do exist ones that are completely male-sterile due to genetic factors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shemesh-Mayer |first1=E |last2=Ben-Michael |first2=T |last3=Rotem |first3=N |last4=Rabinowitch |first4=HD |last5=Doron-Faigenboim |first5=A |last6=Kosmala |first6=A |last7=Perlikowski |first7=D |last8=Sherman |first8=A |last9=Kamenetsky |first9=R |title=Garlic (Allium sativum L.) fertility: transcriptome and proteome analyses provide insight into flower and pollen development. |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |date=2015 |volume=6 |pages=271 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2015.00271 |pmid=25972879 |pmc=4411974|doi-access=free }}</ref> Hybrids have been experimentally produced.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yanagino |first1=Toshiya |last2=Sugawara |first2=Etsuko |last3=Watanabe |first3=Masao |last4=Takahata |first4=Yoshihito |title=Production and characterization of an interspecific hybrid between leek and garlic |journal=Theoretical and Applied Genetics |date=June 2003 |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1007/s00122-003-1232-1 |pmid=12835927|s2cid=11868237 }}</ref>}} Genetically and morphologically, garlic is most similar to the wild species ''[[Allium longicuspis]]'', which grows in central and southwestern Asia.<ref name="Zohary">{{Cite book|title=Domestication of Plants in the Old World |edition=3rd |last1=Zohary|first1=Daniel|last2=Hopf|first2=Maria|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-19-850357-6|publication-date=January 11, 2001|pages=197}}</ref><ref name="SFNA"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook of Vegetable Science and Technology: Production, Composition, Storage, and Processing|publisher=Marcel Dekker|isbn=978-0-8247-0105-5|editor-last=Salunkhe|editor-first=D.K.|publication-date=March 19, 1998|page=397|editor-last2=Kadam|editor-first2=S.S.|date=March 19, 1998}}</ref> However, because ''A. longicuspis'' is also mostly sterile, it is doubtful that it is the ancestor of ''A. sativum''.<ref name="Zohary"/> Other candidates that have been suggested include ''[[Allium tuncelianum|A. tuncelianum]]'', ''[[Allium macrochaetum|A. macrochaetum]]'', and ''[[Allium truncatum|A. truncatum]]'', all of which are native to the [[Middle East]].<ref name="Zohary"/>

''Allium sativum'' grows in the wild in areas where it has become [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalized]]. The "wild garlic", "crow garlic", and "[[field garlic]]" of [[Great Britain|Britain]] are members of the species ''[[Allium ursinum|A. ursinum]]'', ''[[Allium vineale|A. vineale]]'', and ''[[Allium oleraceum|A. oleraceum]]'', respectively. In North America, ''[[Allium vineale|A. vineale]]'' (known as "wild garlic" or "crow garlic") and ''[[Allium canadense]]'' (known as "meadow garlic", "wild garlic", or "wild onion") are common [[weed]]s in fields.<ref>McGee p. 112</ref> So-called [[elephant garlic]] is actually a wild leek (''[[Allium ampeloprasum|A. ampeloprasum]]'') and not a true garlic. [[Solo garlic|Single clove]] garlic (also called pearl or solo garlic) originated in the [[Yunnan]] province of China.

===Subspecies and varieties===
There are two [[subspecies]] of ''A. sativum'',<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN|access-date=December 10, 2017}}</ref> ten major groups of [[Variety (botany)|varieties]], and hundreds of varieties, or cultivars.

*''A. sativum'' var. ''ophioscorodon'' (Link) Döll, called ''Ophioscorodon'' or hardneck garlic, includes porcelain garlics, rocambole garlic, and purple stripe garlics. It is sometimes considered to be a separate species, ''Allium ophioscorodon'' G.Don.
*''A. sativum'' var. ''sativum'', or softneck garlic, includes artichoke garlic, silverskin garlic, and creole garlic.

There are at least 120 cultivars originating from [[Central Asia]], making it the main center of garlic biodiversity.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kamenetsky, R. |author2=London Shafir, I. |author3=Khassanov, F.|display-authors=etal |title=Diversity in fertility potential and organo-sulphur compounds among garlics from Central Asia |journal=Biodivers Conserv |date=2005 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=281–295 |doi=10.1007/s10531-004-5050-9 |bibcode=2005BiCon..14..281K |s2cid=17749916 |url=http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/338008 }}</ref>[[File:Garlic flower head.jpg|thumb|right|Flower head]]
[[File:Italian garlic PDO.JPG|thumb|Italian garlic]]

Some garlics have [[Protected Geographical Status|protected status]] in the UK and the EU,<ref name="pdopgi">{{cite web |title=Agriculture and Rural Development > Agriculture and food > DOOR |date=October 24, 2023 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door/list.html |publisher=European Commission}}</ref> including:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Source
|-
|[[Aglio Rosso di Nubia]] (Red Garlic of Nubia)
|Nubia-Paceco, Provincia di [[Trapani]], [[Sicily]], Italy
|-
|Aglio Bianco Polesano
|[[Rovigo]], [[Veneto]], Italy (PDO)
|-
|Aglio di Voghiera
|[[Provincia di Ferrara|Ferrara]], [[Emilia-Romagna]], Italy (PDO)
|-
|Ail blanc de Lomagne
|Lomagne in the [[Gascony]], France (PGI)
|-
|Ail de la Drôme
|[[Drôme (département)|Drôme]], France (PGI)
|-
|[[Lautrec Pink Garlic|Ail rose de Lautrec]], a rose/pink garlic
|[[Lautrec]], France (PGI)
|-
|Ail violet de Cadours
|[[Cadours]], France (PDO)
|-
|Ajo Morado de Las Pedroñeras, a rose/pink garlic
|[[Las Pedroñeras]], Spain (PGI)
|-
| 金鄕大蒜 Jīn Xiāng Dà Suàn
|China (PGI)
|-
| Taşköprü Sarımsağı
|Turkey (PDO)
|}

=== Etymology ===
The word ''garlic'' derives from [[Old English]], ''garlēac'', meaning ''gar'' ([[spear]]) and [[leek]], as a 'spear-shaped leek'.<ref>{{cite web |date=2018 |title=garlic (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/garlic |access-date=June 14, 2018 |website=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]] |publisher=Douglas Harper}}</ref>