Garlic is a species in the onion family of Alliaceae and has been widely used for both culinary and medicinal purposes. The bulb is the most commonly used part of the plant that grows 12-16 inches tall. Each bulb has around 5-15 cloves that can depends on the variety. Allium sativum, known as garlic, is a strongly aromatic bulb crop believed to originate from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Western China. A. sativum was domesticated long ago and is mentioned in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Indian, and Chinese writings. Garlic grows in temperate and tropical regions all over the world, and many cultivars have been developed to suit different climates. A. sativum is the most widely consumed bulb after onion.

Garlic was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, chewed by Greek Olympian athletes and thought to be essential for keeping vampires at bay. The plant has been used over many centuries in different countries as a protection against evil. Allium sativum is divided into two subspecies, A. sativum var. sativum, also known as softneck garlic, and Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon, also known as hardneck garlic. Both varieties are composed of an underground bulb made up of cloves, which are prophylls enclosed by dry membranous skins and held together by a basal plate. The variations differ in that hard neck garlic’s bulb is composed of six to eleven cloves, circled around a centralized woody stalk. This variety of garlic has a scape that curls at the top, but it is generally removed after it curls one to three times. This is because if it continues to grow, less energy can be utilized towards the bulb. Eventually, the scape would give rise to bulbils, containing miniature cloves. The bulbils are occasionally accompanied by white or light purple flowers, although these are sterile. Softneck garlic does not have a flowering top and contains up to twenty-four cloves per bulb.