Wild Garlic - Tulbaghia violacea
Wild Garlic - Tulbaghia violacea

Common names: wild garlic, society garlic (English); utswelane, itswele lomlambo (Xhosa); isihaqa, incinsini (Zulu); wildeknoffel, wildeknoflok (Afrikaans). 
Botanical name: Tulbaghia violacea

Tulbaghia violacea, commonly called wild garlic, is a popular garden plant with attractive, violet-coloured flowers and garlic-scented leaves. It is a fast-growing, drought-tolerant bulb that can be used as an edging plant, a groundcover, or a rockery specimen. It has various ecological and medicinal uses, such as attracting butterflies and bees, repelling snakes and insects, and treating coughs and colds. It is also edible and can be used as a seasoning or a spinach substitute. It grows easily in most soils, with plenty of compost, and can be propagated from seed or by dividing clumps.

Uses & Benefits: aromatic, culinary herb, flavouring, food, insect repellent, medicine, pot plant, small garden, snake repellent, water-wise

All Plant Profiles

Nature & Cultivation

Family: Amaryllidaceae
Type: geophyte
Vegetation type:  
Flower colour: mauve, pink
Flowering season: Spring, Summer
Plant-animal interactions: bees, butterflies, moths
Red list status: Least Concern

Light-level: afternoon sun, full sun, morning sun, semi-shade
Soil type: loamy, sandy, well-composted, well-drained
Soil pH: Acidic, Alkaline, Neutral
Propagation: division, seed

Use as Medicine

Safety: no safety concerns

Herbal traditions: 
Plant parts used: flowers, leaves, roots

First-aid use: asthma, colds & 'flu, cough, diarrhoea, fever, headache, indigestion, intestinal worms, sinusitis, wounds 
Medical use:  
Veterinary use:  

Plant qualities: cleansing, drying, pungent, warming
Plant actions: andrgenic, anthelmintic / vermifuge, anti-cancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antiplasmoidial, antiprotozoal, aphrodisiac, cardioprotective, hypoglycaemic / anti-diabetic, hypolipidemic / anti-atherosclerotic, hypotensive, insect repellent
Phytochemical constituents: S-cysteine-4-oxide, flavonoids, gallotannins, marasmicin, tannins

Plant preparations: compress, decoction, dried, enema, fresh, gargle, infusion - aqueous, infusion - vegetable oil, poultice, salt, salve, syrup, tincture, wash

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