Weed Information: Allium vineale (garlic, wild)
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Allium vineale (garlic, wild)

Family: Liliaceae

Description

As with other members of the genus, the strong onion or garlic odor is the most readily identifiable feature. In this species all or most of the flowers are replaced by aerial bulbs. The below ground bulbs also produce offset bulblets. These two features cause the plant to be readily spread by cultivation equipment. Contamination by the small, kernel-sized aerial bulbs can greatly decrease the value of harvested grain. Misspelled Allium vinale in Weeds of the Northern US and Canada (Montgomery).

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Green
  • Purple
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Simple umbel
Number of Petals
  • 3 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • sepals lacking
  • 3 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 6 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 3 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 3-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • All basal
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Parallel
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Linear or filiform
Succulence
  • Succulent
  • Not succulent
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Clasping
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Seasonally saturated
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Hollow (flowering stem at maturity)
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Bulb or Corm
  • Fibrous

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • California
  • Iowa
  • Montana
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Washington
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
Other
  • District of Columbia

  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 106
  • Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 146
  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 63
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 43
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 34
  • Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 49
  • Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 65
  • Selected Weeds of Oregon, 1985 and 1989 Supplement (s) Oregon State Dept. of Agriculture, See page: s11
  • Some Important Michigan Weeds, 1951 Mich. Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #304, See page: 65
  • Some Weedy Plants of North Carolina, 1955 North Carolina Ag. Ext. Circular # 390, See page: 16
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 2ALLVI
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 155, 156
  • Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 35
  • Weeds, 1957 Illinois State Dept. of Ag., See page: 36
  • Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 45
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 890
  • Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 48
  • Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 159
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 347
  • Weeds of New Jersey, 1929 New Jersey Ag. Exp. Station Circular #219, See page: 17
  • Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 65
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 328
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 46
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 9
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 30
  • Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 25
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 342
  • Weeds of the Southern United States, 1975, North Carolina Ag. Extension Circular #599 See page: 31
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 97
  • Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 374
  • Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 372
  • Wildly Successful Plants, A Handbook of North American Weeds, 1977 (ISBN# 0-02-528850-4) See page: 8,20,73
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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