Editing Allium vineale

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| name=Crow garlic
| taxon              = Allium vineale
| parent             = Allium subg. Allium
| image              = Alliumvineale1web.jpg
| image_caption      = Umbel showing bulbils and a few flowers
| authority          = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|synonyms=
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=<small>Synonymy</small>
|''Allium affine'' <small>Boiss. & Heldr.</small>
|''Allium arenarium'' <small>Wahlenb. 1828, illegitimate homonym not L. 1753</small>
|''Allium assimile'' <small>Halácsy</small>
|''Allium campestre'' <small>Schleich. ex Steud.</small>
|''Allium compactum'' <small>Thuill.</small>
|''Allium descendens'' <small>W.D.J.Koch 1837, illegitimate homonym not L. 1753 </small>
|''Allium laxiflorum'' <small>Tausch</small>
|''Allium littoreum'' <small>Bertol. 1827, illegitimate homonym not Bertol. 1819 </small>
|''Allium margaritaceum'' var. ''bulbiferum'' <small>Batt. & Trab.</small>
|''Allium nitens'' <small>Sauzé & Maill.</small>
|''Allium purshii'' <small>G.Don</small>
|''Allium rilaense'' <small>Panov</small>
|''Allium rotundum'' <small>Wimm. & Grab. 1824, illegitimate homonym not L. 1762</small>
|''Allium sphaerocephalum'' <small>Crome ex Schltdl. 1824, illegitimate homonym not L. 1753</small>
|''Allium subvineale'' <small>Wendelbo</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''affine'' <small>Regel</small>
|''Allium vineale'' subsp. ''affine'' <small>(Regel) K.Richt.</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''asperiflorum'' <small>Regel</small>
|''Allium vineale'' subsp. ''asperiflorum'' <small>(Regel) K.Richt.</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''bulbiferum'' <small>Syme</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''capsuliferum'' <small>Syme</small>
|''Allium vineale'' subsp. ''capsuliferum'' <small>(Syme) K.Richt.</small>
|''Allium vineale'' subsp. ''compactum'' <small>(Thuill.) K.Richt.</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''compactum'' <small>(Thuill.) Lej. & Courtois</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''descendens'' <small>Nyman</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''kochii'' <small>Lange</small>
|''Allium vineale'' subsp. ''kochii'' <small>(Lange) Nyman 	</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''multiflorum'' <small>Baguet</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''nitens'' <small>(Sauzé & Maill.) Nyman</small>
|''Allium vineale'' var. ''purshii'' <small>(G.Don) Regel</small>
|''Getuonis vinealis'' <small>(L.) Raf.</small>
|''Porrum capitatum'' <small>P.Renault</small>
|''Porrum vineale'' <small>(L.) Schur</small>
}}
|synonyms_ref=<ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-296924 The Plant List]</ref>
}}

'''''Allium vineale''''' ('''wild garlic''', '''onion grass''', '''crow garlic''' or '''stag's garlic''') is a [[perennial plant|perennial]], bulb-forming species of [[Allium|wild onion]], native to [[Europe]], northwestern [[Africa]], and the [[Middle East]].<ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=296924 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref> The species was introduced in [[Australia]] and [[North America]], where it has become an [[invasive species]].<ref>{{EFloras|1|242101415|Allium vineale}}</ref><ref>{{BONAP|ref|genus=Allium|species=vineale}}</ref><ref>{{GRIN|2416|Allium vineale}}</ref><ref>[http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=wa&s=&region=gd&card=H43 Weeds Australia, Australian Weeds Committee, ''Allium vineale''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315230806/http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=wa&s=&region=gd&card=H43 |date=2014-03-15 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Brewster, J. L. | title=Onions and Other Alliums | publisher= (Wallingford: CABI Publishing | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-84593-399-9}}</ref>

== Description ==
All parts of the plant have a strong [[garlic]] [[odour]]. The underground [[bulb]] is 1–2&nbsp;cm diameter, with a fibrous outer layer. The main (flower) [[plant stem|stem]] grows to 30–120&nbsp;cm tall, bearing 2–4 [[leaf|leaves]] and an apical [[inflorescence]] 2–5&nbsp;cm diameter comprising a number of small [[Bulb#Bulbil|bulbils]] and none to a few [[flower]]s, subtended by a basal [[bract]].

The leaves are slender hollow [[cylinder (geometry)|tubes]], 15–60&nbsp;cm long and 2–4&nbsp;mm thick, waxy texture, with a groove along the side of the leaf facing the stem. Although very similar with the leaves of ''[[Allium schoenoprasum]]'' (Chives), they tend to be more fibrous, have more vertical grooves, and the grooves are better defined than the leaves of chives.

The inflorescence is a tight umbel surrounded by a membranous bract in bud which withers when the flowers open. Each individual flower is stalked and has a pinkish-green perianth {{convert|2.5|to|4.5|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=on}} long. There are six [[tepal]]s, six stamens and a pistil formed from three fused carpels. Mixed with the flowers are several yellowish-brown [[bulbil]]s.

The fruit is a capsule but the seeds seldom set and propagation usually takes place when the bulbils are knocked off and grow into new plants.<ref name=NatureGate>{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/wild-garlic |title=Wild garlic: ''Allium vineale'' |publisher=NatureGate |access-date=2013-12-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Davies, D. | title=Alliums: The Ornamental Onions | publisher=(Portland: Timber Press | year=1992 | isbn=0-88192-241-2 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/alliums00dily }}</ref>

Plants with no flowers, only bulbils, are sometimes distinguished as the [[variety (biology)|variety]] ''Allium vineale'' var. ''compactum'', but this character is probably not [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomically]] significant.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Although crow's garlic has an odour similar to true garlic, ''A. sativum'', forms flowers full of bulbils just like garlic and dies back during summer, the leaf structure is more similar to those of [[chives]], ''A. schoenoprasum'', to which ''A. vineale'' is more closely related to than true garlic.

== Die back ==
During summer, just like domesticated [[garlic]] (''A. sativum''),  after it forms the flower, the plant dies back over the course of the last summer months and sprouts back in mid autumn when precipitations grow and temperatures drop enough.

This is one of the reasons why the plants can be quite easily spread and become a weed, because during the most intense agricultural soil mechanical interactions, the weeds are almost impossible to identify, and both the bulbs and newly formed bulbils are dormant and less susceptible to die from mechanical damage.<ref>[https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/allium_vineale.htm "Allium vineale"] in Weeds of Australia</ref>

== Uses and invasiveness ==
[[File:Wild Onions in Oklahoma.jpg|thumb|left|Wild onions washed and ready to be diced up for a [[fried rice]] dish. They add a pleasant garlic-like flavor to meals.]]

The leaves, flowers, and bulbs of ''Allium vineale'' are edible.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/allium-vineale/ | title = Allium vineale | publisher = North Carolina Cooperative Extension | access-date = May 4, 2023 | quote = The leaves, flowers, and bulbs are edible and can be used similarly to chives, although they tend to be a bit tougher.}}</ref>  While it has been suggested as a substitute for garlic, there is some difference of opinion as to whether there is an unpleasant aftertaste compared to that of common garlic (''[[Allium sativum]]'').{{citation needed|date=July 2013}} It imparts a garlic-like [[Flavour (taste)|flavour]] and [[odour]] on dairy and beef products when [[grazing|grazed]] by [[livestock]]. It is considered a pestilential invasive [[weed]] in the US, as [[grain]] products may become tainted with a garlic odour or flavour in the presence of aerial bulblets at the time of [[harvest]].<ref>Eric Block, "Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science" (Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2010)</ref><ref>James L. Brewster, "Onions and Other Alliums" (Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 2008)</ref><ref>Dilys Davies, "Alliums: The Ornamental Onions" (Portland: Timber Press, 1992)</ref>  Wild garlic is tolerant to herbicides, which cannot cling well to the vertical, smooth and waxy structure of its leaves.<ref>[http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/weeds/hgic2311.html Wild Garlic & Wild Onion]. Clemson University. Retrieved May 12, 2013</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Block, E. | title=Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science | publisher= (Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-85404-190-9}}</ref>

''Allium vineale'' 'Hair', a cultivated variety, is sold as an ornamental plant in the UK and USA.  It has unusual flowerheads which have purple centres and green hair-like extensions.<ref>{{cite web |title=16 of the Prettiest Allium Varieties to Plant in Your Garden |url=https://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/bulbs/alliums-for-your-garden/?slide=slide_555605ba-932e-42fc-a9d8-6cae51804764#slide_555605ba-932e-42fc-a9d8-6cae51804764 |website=Better Homes & Gardens |access-date=24 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Buy Allium Hair Bulbs {{!}} J Parker Dutch Bulbs |url=https://www.jparkers.co.uk/25-allium-hair-1002652c |website=www.jparkers.co.uk |access-date=24 June 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Allium]]''
* ''[[Allium oleraceum]]''
* [[List of beneficial weeds]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2256778 Richens, R.H. 1947. Biological flora of the British Isles: ''Allium vineale'' L. Journal of Ecology 34, 209-226.]
* [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8349,8354,8424 Jepson Manual Treatment]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ALVI USDA Plants Profile]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080821082752/http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/allvi.htm Virginia Tech Weed Guide]
* {{CalPhotos|Allium|vineale}}
* {{PFAF|Allium vineale}}
* [https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/allium_vineale.htm "Allium vineale"]   in Weeds of Australia 

{{Allium}}
{{Non-timber forest products}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q161230}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Allium|vineale]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of North Africa]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]