Allium ursinum

Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic, onion grass, or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Eurasia, where it grows in moist woodland. It is a wild relative of onion and garlic, all belonging to the same genus, Allium. There are two recognized subspecies: A. ursinum subsp. ursinum and A. ursinum subsp. ucrainicum.

Description

An onion family plant. It is a plant which keeps growing from year to year. It grows 30-40 cm high. Plants have a garlic like smell. The bulbs are narrow, white and bottle shaped. There are 2 or 3 leaves on long, white stalks from the base. The bulbs divide to produce a clump. The leaves are bright-green and broadly oval. They taper to the tip and have parallel veins. The flowers are on 2 to 3 angled stems. The flowers are white and star like. The heads can be 6 cm across.

Edible Uses

Leaves are available raw or cooked from late January onward. One account describes an overpowering garlic odour that fades on cooking, though in practice they tend to be considerably milder than garlic. Raw, they make a welcome and flavourful addition to salads — particularly valued as a fresh green leaf in midwinter. The flowers are somewhat stronger in flavour than the leaves; used in small quantities raw or cooked, they make a decorative and tasty addition to salads. Flowering heads remain edible as the seed pods form, though the flavour intensifies as the seeds ripen. The bulb has a fairly strong garlic flavour and can be eaten raw or cooked, though it is small — up to 4cm long and 1cm in diameter — and somewhat fiddly to harvest. Bulbs can be dug at any point while the plant is dormant, from early summer to early winter; those harvested in early summer store for at least 6 months. The small green bulbils are used as a substitute for capers.

Traditional Uses

The leaves and bulbs are finely sliced and added to salads. The leaves are used for sarma in Turkey. They are rolled around a filling of rice or minced meat. They are also used in soups and sauces. They are used in pickles. The flowers can be eaten raw or used as a garnish in salads. The young green bulbils are used as a caper substitute. CAUTION: They should not be eaten in large amounts.

Medicinal Uses

Ramsons shares most of the health benefits associated with cultivated garlic, though its action is weaker. Regular use promotes general health, and it is particularly effective at reducing high blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. It is also recognised as beneficial for fermentative dyspepsia. All parts of the plant can be used medicinally, though the bulb is the most active. The plant is anthelmintic, antiasthmatic, anticholesterolemic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, cholagogue, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypotensive, rubefacient, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, and vasodilator. It eases stomach pain and supports digestion, making it useful in treating diarrhoea, colic, wind, indigestion, and loss of appetite. An infusion of the whole herb can be taken internally or administered as an enema to treat threadworms. It is also beneficial for asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. The juice supports weight loss when taken internally and can be applied externally to rheumatic and arthritic joints, where its mild irritant action stimulates local circulation.

Known Hazards

Plants that may be mistaken for A. ursinum include lily of the valley, Colchicum autumnale, Arum maculatum, and Veratrum viride or Veratrum album, all of which are poisonous. In Europe, where ramsons are popularly harvested from the wild, people are regularly poisoned after mistakenly picking lily of the valley or Colchicum autumnale. Grinding the leaves between the fingers and checking for a garlic-like smell can be helpful, but if the smell remains on the hands, one can mistake a subsequent poisonous plant for a safe one. When the leaves of A. ursinum and Arum maculatum first sprout, they look similar, but unfolded Arum maculatum leaves have irregular edges and many deep veins, while ramsons leaves are convex with a single main vein. The leaves of lily of the valley are in pairs, dull green, and come from a single reddish-purple stem, while the leaves of A. ursinum each have their own stem, are shiny when new, and are bright green.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It grows in woods throughout Europe in moist soils especially alkaline soils. The can grow in low light. It is best in humus-rich, moist, well-drained soil.

Where It Grows

Armenia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Belarus, Bosnia, Britain, Bulgaria, Caucasus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Europe, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mediterranean, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scandinavia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Türkiye,

Cultivation

Prefers woodland conditions in a moist well-drained soil. Plants are often found in the wild growing in quite wet situations. When growing in suitable conditions, wild garlic forms a dense carpet of growth in the spring and can be a very invasive plant. It dies down in early summer, however, allowing other plants to grow in the same space. The bulbs should be planted fairly deeply. The seeds are dispersed by ants. Grows well with most plants, especially roses, carrots, beet and chamomile, but it inhibits the growth of legumes. This plant is a bad companion for alfalfa, each species negatively affecting the other. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Propagation

Seed is best sown as soon as ripe, either in situ or in a cold frame. It germinates quickly; seedlings can be grown on under glass for the first year and planted out as dormant bulbs in late summer of the following year. Stored seed can be sown in spring in a greenhouse. Division in summer after the plant has died down is very easy, and the divisions can be planted straight out into their permanent positions.

Other Uses

The juice serves as a moth repellent, and the whole plant is said to repel insects and moles. The juice has also been used as a general household disinfectant. Ramsons is noted as a useful companion plant and suits food forest settings.

Other Information

It is foraged and eaten in restaurants in Sweden.

Notes

There are about 300-700 Allium species. Most species of Allium are edible (Flora of China). All alliums are edible but they may not all be worth eating! They have also been put in the family Alliaceae.

Dangerous Lookalikes

This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.

TOXIC

Lords-and-Ladies (Cuckoo Pint)

Arum maculatum

Frank Vincentz

Safe

Wild garlic

Allium ursinum

(c) Ulrika, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Lords-and-Ladies (Cuckoo Pint): No garlic smell, rounded lobes at leaf base, often dark-spotted leaves, hooded flower (spadix), bright red berries.

Wild garlic: Strong garlic smell when crushed, single leaf per stem from bulb.

DEADLY

Lily of the Valley

Convallaria majalis

Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK

Safe

Wild garlic

Allium ursinum

(c) Ulrika, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Lily of the Valley: No garlic smell, 2-3 leaves per stem wrapped at base, leaves often paired, tiny bell-shaped flowers.

Wild garlic: Strong garlic smell when crushed, single leaf per stem from bulb, flat leaf blade.

DEADLY

Autumn Crocus

Colchicum autumnale

Sarah Stierch

Safe

Wild garlic

Allium ursinum

(c) Ulrika, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Autumn Crocus: No garlic smell, multiple broad leaves from base, no flowers in spring (flowers in autumn), thicker/stiffer leaves.

Wild garlic: Strong garlic smell, single leaf per stem, white star-shaped flowers in spring.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Agghiu ursinum Aglio selvatico, Barenlauch, Broad-leaved garlic, Buckrams, čemaž, Cesnek medvedf, Cheremsha, Cipudda di serpi, Daslook, De zo, Div chesan, Div luk, Ghandzili, Gipsy onion, Laksi, Leurda, Ramsay, Ramslauk, Remza, Shumski luk, Wood garlic

References (43)

• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 66
• Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 143
• Brown, D., 2002, The Royal Horticultural Society encyclopedia of Herbs and their uses. DK Books. p 114
• Bussman, R. W., et al, 2016, A comparative ethnobotany of Khevsureti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Tusheti, Svaneti, and Racha-Lechkhumi, Republic of Georgia (Sakartvelo), Caucasus. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2016) 12:43
• Bussman, R. W. et al, 2017, Ethnobotany of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 16(1) pp 7-24

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