Wild garlic
Allium vineale
Crow garlic. A weedy allium in lawns, onion-scented. Not lily-of-the-valley (no onion smell, toxic). Small bulbs and greens as a strong garlic-onion.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
Also called: crow garlic
What it is
Crow garlic. A weedy allium in lawns, onion-scented. Not lily-of-the-valley (no onion smell, toxic). Small bulbs and greens as a strong garlic-onion.
Edible portions
- greens
- bulbs in small amounts
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. 4–8 lawn weed
- Light. Sun to part shade
- Soil. Lawns, fields
- Planting. Usually already in the lawn.
- Harvest. Greens when they smell like onion; bulbs small.
Preparation and culinary uses
- A pungent stand-in for garlic/chives
Safety
- Onion smell is the ID vs toxic look-alikes without it.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- No USDA FoodData Central nutrient profile is attached here. That is not a claim that the plant contains no nutrients.
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.