thumbnail|right|Wild garlic in Hampshire, UK

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. Another theory is that the "ursinum" may refer to Ursa Major, as A. ursinum was perhaps one of the most northerly distributed Allium species known to the ancient Greeks, Common names for the plant in many languages also make reference to bears.

Cows love to eat them, hence the modern vernacular name of cows's leek. In Devon, dairy farmers have occasionally had the milk of their herds rejected because of the garlic flavour imparted to it by the cows having grazed upon the plant.

Early healers among the Celts, Gaels, and Teutonic tribes and ancient Romans were familiar with the wild herb who called it herba salutaris, meaning 'healing herb'. The flowers are star-like with six white tepals, about in diameter, with stamens shorter than the perianth. starting before deciduous trees leaf in the spring. The flower stem is triangular in cross-section and the leaves are broadly lanceolate, similar to those of the toxic lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis). 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.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland. The ursinum subspecies is found in western and central Europe, while the ucrainicum subspecies is found in the east and southeast.

Ecology

As its name suggests, A. ursinum is an important food for brown bears. The plant is also a favourite of wild boar.

A. ursinum is the primary larval host plant for a specialised hoverfly, Portevinia maculata (ramsons hoverfly).

The flowers are pollinated by bees.

Uses

All parts of A. ursinum are edible. The leaves can be used as salad, herb, boiled as a vegetable, in soup, or as an ingredient for a sauce that may be a substitute for pesto in lieu of basil. Leaves are also often used to make garlic butter. In Ukraine and Russia the stems are preserved by salting and eaten as a salad. A variety of Cornish Yarg cheese has a rind coated in wild garlic leaves. The leaves can be pickled in the same way as Allium ochotense known as mountain garlic in Korea. The bulbs can be used similarly to garlic cloves, and the flowers are also edible. Parts of the plant can be used for preparing Van herbed cheese, a speciality of the Van province in Turkey.

Popular dishes using the plant include pesto, soups, pasta, cheese, scones and Devonnaise.

The leaves are also used as fodder. Cows that have fed on ramsons give milk that tastes slightly of garlic, and butter made from this milk used to be very popular in 19th-century Switzerland.

The first evidence of the human use of A. ursinum comes from the Mesolithic settlement of Barkær (Denmark), where an impression of a leaf has been found. In the Swiss Neolithic settlement of Thayngen-Weier (Cortaillod culture), a high concentration of pollen from A. ursinum was found in the settlement layer, interpreted by some as evidence for use of the plant as fodder.

Herbal remedy

Allium ursinum has been credited with many medicinal qualities and is a popular homeopathic ingredient. It is often used for treating cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive problems, as well as for the sterilisation of wounds.

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File:Daslook (Allium ursinum) d.j.b 07.jpg|Flower bud

File:Daslook (Allium ursinum) d.j.b 02.jpg|Young flowers

File:Daslook (Allium ursinum) d.j.b 05.jpg|

File:Allium ursinum (Bärlauch) - Blüte.jpg|

File:Allium ursinum2.jpg|

File:Allium ursinum sl1.jpg|Fruit with seeds

File:AlliumUrsinumAspekt.jpg|Ramsons in a forest

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See also

  • Allioideae
  • Allium tricoccum - North American wild leek (or "ramps", a cognate of "ramsons")
  • Allium ampeloprasum - Eurasian broadleaf wild leek
  • Allium ochotense
  • Allium victorialis
  • List of Allium species

References

  • Tutin, T.G. 1957. Biological flora of the British Isles: Allium ursinum. Journal of Ecology 45(3) pp.1003-1010.
  • Ramsons at Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages