Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and Indian onion

Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and Indian onion. With a history of several thousand years of human consumption and use, garlic is native to India and northeastern Iran, and has long been a common seasoning worldwide. It was known to Ancient Egyptians, and India has been used both as a food flavoring and as a traditional medicine. Garlic is widely used around the world for its pungent flavor as a seasoning or condiment. The garlic plant's bulb is the most commonly used part of the plant. With the exception of the single clove types, garlic bulbs are normally divided into numerous fleshy sections called cloves. Garlic cloves are used for consumption (raw or cooked) or for medicinal purposes. They have a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking. [www]