Allium ursinum
wild garlic
Family AmaryllidaceaeAlso called ramsons, bear's garlic, wood garlic, broad-leaved garlic
About
Allium ursinum, wild garlic or ramsons, is a Eurasian woodland bulb whose broad leaves carpet moist forests in spring and are widely eaten.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Allium species are toxic to cats and dogs; eating large amounts can cause hemolytic anemia, and cats are most sensitive. General guidance for the genus
- People
- Not recorded.
- Water
- Moist soil, as in its native woodland.
- Soil
- Moist, slightly acidic woodland soil.
- Propagation
- Reproduces mainly by seed.
- Mature size
- Leaves up to 25 cm long and 7 cm wide.
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
Narrow bulbs formed from a single leaf base produce bright green elliptical leaves up to 25 cm long and 7 cm wide on stalks up to 20 cm. A triangular stem bears an umbel of 6–20 star-like white flowers 16–20 mm across, without bulbils.
Distribution & habitat
Moist deciduous woodland across temperate Europe from Ireland to the Caucasus, preferring slightly acidic soils; common in lowland Britain except the far north. Subsp. ursinum is western and central, subsp. ucrainicum eastern and south-eastern.
Ecology
Eaten by brown bears and wild boar; the main larval host of the ramsons hoverfly (Portevinia maculata); flowers are bee-pollinated. In Britain it blooms April–June, before the tree canopy closes.
Cultivation notes
All parts are edible; the leaves are used in salads or cooked as a vegetable, and wrap one variety of Cornish Yarg cheese.
History & etymology
Ursinum means 'of bears', after bears' supposed liking for the bulbs. Pollen at a Neolithic Swiss settlement may indicate early use as fodder.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Ireland, United Kingdom
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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