Stomachs on legs are proud to present

These garlic shoot tips were immersed in droplets of cryoprotecting solution, then plunged into liquid nitrogen to preserve genetic diversity of the vegetatively propagated germplasm. (Photo by Stephen Ausmus)

Aren't they pruutty

You probably aren't aware that researchers at ARS are also the experts on identifying which garlics are truly different, as opposed to the same variety with different names.

Since garlic doesn't reproduce by seeds, varieties of garlic are kept as clones, individuals with exactly the same genes. This means that if you buy a bulb of California Early garlic in a grocery story in Phoenix, Arizona, it's supposedly identical to the California Early that I buy at my local supermarket in Maryland.

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