Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: Kashmir garlic, Snow Mountain garlic, Ek Kali Lahsun, Kashmiri Lahsun

Family: Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis)

Distribution: India

Usage: Edible, medicinal

Comments: It is reputed to have amazing helath benefits. Shah 2014 writes: If you visit to Vaishono Devi at Jammu or Katra you would find people selling pkts of different ranges and weight ranging from 200 gm. and above having bulbils of small sizes (see photo no.11) amounting from Rs. 40/- and above and claiming if it is boiled in oil and massaged on the paining joints with arthritis or rheumatism, it allays pain and cures the disease. It is claimed to be an excellent aphrodisiac.
It is known by different names such as; 'Ek Kali Lahsun'; 'Kashmiri lahsun' or 'garlic' and claimed to be 7 times stronger than the average garlic in terms of its medicinal properties. Many people state it is garlic, Allium sativum, which in higher elevations start producing bulbils however, floristic literature do not mention it any where. Chopra et al (1965) mention 'Kashmir Garlic' as Allium schoenoprasum."