People don’t often think about crow garlic (Allium vineale), and those who do don’t seem to like it. A quick Google search for “onion grass”, as it usually called, will bring up article after article about how to get rid of it. It is a weed, after all. But I’ve always liked it.
It was the odor that attracted me when I was younger, as it attracts many younger children. Then, it was the color they added to an environment by growing in the colder seasons when little else will. Now, I can’t point to one feature of crow garlic that appeals to me. It might be the tall stalks that bend and twist gracefully, but I’m not entirely sure.
The above mentioned dislike of crow garlic seems not to have reached many children, as is the case with many things adults dislike. In early spring, the sight of children pulling up and playing with crow garlic is not an uncommon one. The distinct, onion-like smell plays a role in this, stimulating more senses than many other plants. This, of course, is not limited to children--anyone can easily interact with it in this way.
Crow garlic is also one way to tell that spring is coming. Though they grow throughout the winter and spring, it isn’t until nearly spring that they grow thick and bright enough to be noticed.
It seems now that there would be no way to avoid crow garlic when walking outside in much of north America, but this has not always been the case. Crow garlic is native to north-western Africa, the Canary Islands, Europe, and western Asia--not America. It is also widely naturalized in south-eastern Australia.
Despite technically being an invasive species, crow garlic isn’t nearly as harmful as many other invasive species. It interferes minimally with other organisms, and its biggest negative effect may be on humans. It can contaminate agricultural products. If a cow eats crow garlic while grazing, it won’t hurt the cow, but the cow’s milk will develop at distinct garlic taste, making it less appealing to humans.
Overall, crow garlic is a commonplace plant, one that most take for granted. Crow garlic is one of the few truly harmless invasive species.
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Reminds me of that scene in Napoleon Dynamite when he is in the Future Farmers of America competition, tasting for defects in milk. Thanks for this! I always called in onion grass and never took the time to find out its scientific or true "common" name.
ReplyDeleteI had never noticed this plant before you wrote the post. You have done a good job describing Crow Garlic. By the way, not all the non-native species are invasive, and maybe Crow Garlic is a good example.
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