Allium chinense in the context of Tottori, Tottori

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, stretching from the Black Sea through the southern Caucasus, northeastern Iran, and the Hindu Kush; it also grows wild in parts of Mediterranean Europe. There are two subspecies and hundreds of varieties of garlic.

Garlic has been used for thousands of years as a seasoning, culinary ingredient, and traditional medical remedy. It was known in many ancient civilizations, including the Babylonians, Egyptians, Jews, Romans, and Chinese, and remains significant in many cuisines and folk treatments, especially across the Mediterranean and Asia. Garlic propagates in a variety of climates and conditions and is produced globally; China is by far the largest producer, accounting for over two thirds (73%) of the world's supply in 2021.

The shallot /ʃəˈlɒt/ is a cultivar group of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, Allium ascalonicum. The taxon was synonymized with Allium cepa (the common onion) in 2010, as the difference was too small to justify a separate species.

As part of the onion genus Allium, its close relatives include garlic, scallions, leeks, chives, and the Chinese onion.

A leek is a biennial vegetable, a cultivar of Allium ampeloprasum, the broadleaf wild leek (syn. Allium porrum). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes colloquially called a "stem" or "stalk".

The genus Allium also contains the onion, garlic, shallot, scallion, chives, and Chinese onion. Three closely related vegetables—elephant garlic, kurrat and Persian leek or tareh—are also cultivars of A. ampeloprasum, although different in their culinary uses.

Scallions (also known as green onions and spring onions) are edible vegetables of various species in the genus Allium. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions. Green onions/scallions have a long, delicate green stem that is white near the root. They have no bulb and a mild, sweet onion flavour. Their close relatives include garlic, shallots, leeks, chives, and Chinese onions. The leaves are eaten both raw and cooked.

Scallions produce hollow, tubular, green leaves that grow directly from the bulb, which does not fully develop. This is different to other Allium species where bulbs fully develop, such as commercially available onions and garlic. True spring onions look similar to green onions, but have a distinctive white bulb at the base.