Translations:Garlic/10/en

Taxonomy

Identification of the wild progenitor of common garlic is difficult due to the sterility of its many cultivars, which limits the ability to cross test with wild relatives. Genetically and morphologically, garlic is most similar to the wild species Allium longicuspis, which grows in central and southwestern Asia. However, because A. longicuspis is also mostly sterile, it is doubtful that it is the ancestor of A. sativum. Other candidates that have been suggested include A. tuncelianum, A. macrochaetum, and A. truncatum, all of which are native to the Middle East.