Family: Amaryllidaceae

Garlic is a well-known spice, related to onion and leeks. It thrives in colder areas, so it may be challenging to grow bulbs of a good size here in Hawaiʻi. However, new promising research is underway to learn which kinds of garlic grow best in Hawaiis tropical climate. Some varieties that will grow well in our warmer climates are Creoles, Asiatic, Hardnecks, and Marbled Purple Stripe. Garlic requires fertile, well-drained soil. Plant in the colder months and harvest once it starts to flower.

Plant Uses:

• Edible
• Medicinal

Plant Dangers:

• No dangers

High Risk Traits:

• Able to grow in a broad range of climates, from temperate to subtropical
  
• Widely planted and naturalized (native range unknown)
  
• Regarded as a minor weed in certain settings
  
• Other Allium species have become invasive
  
• Potentially toxic to animals and humans at higher dosages
  
• Unpalatable to grazing animals
  
• Geophyte (able to persist from bulbs)
  
• Able to spread vegetatively
  
• Cultivated as an annual
  
• Poorly controlled by several herbicides

Low Risk Traits:

• Highly domesticated and cultivated for a long period of time as a food crop
  
• Prefers a cooler climate (may only be able to persist at higher elevations in tropical regions)
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
  
• Shade-intolerant
  
• Does not do well on acidic soils
  
• Fruits are abortive and no seeds are produced (although seed producing cultivars are being evaluated)
  
• Lack of seed production makes accidental dispersal unlikely