#ramsons

Plant of the Day

Thursday 28 May 2026

In this woodland the native Allium ursinum (wild garlic, ramsons, buckram, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, bear’s garlic) was filling the air with a distinctive and pungent garlicky smell. This bulbous perennial has white flowers and broad leaves.

This whole place stinks. Of garlic.

London, UK, April 2023

Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) 

‘Wild garlic’ is a term given to a whole host of garlic / onion scented plants over the world, and A. arsinum also goes by many names - wild garlic, ramsons, ramps, broad leaved garlic, bear garlic. 

Like many other similarly pungent and edible plants, it starts to pop up in early spring, signalling the start of the spring greens and fungi. It is native to the UK (which is why I leave the bulbs in the ground, whereas many North American foragers will pull them up, and leave in their native Alliums), and likes damp woodland, near streams and ditches. 

There are look-a-likes to be careful of - Lily of the Valley is the most dangerous, containing extremely toxic substances that effect the heart, and growing in similar habitats to Alliums. However, as with most look-a-likes, if you are aware of them, they are easily distinguished and avoided. Lilly of the Valley has two leaves on each stem, whereas each wild garlic leaf grows on its own stem, for example. Most tellingly however, wild garlic of course has a pungent, garlic-ey smell, which Lily of the Valley lacks. If you are at all in doubt or worried, you can always wait for the plants to flower, as the differences between the two will be clear to even the most inexperienced foragers. Lily of the Valley flowers are beautiful little bells, whereas wild garlic flowers are small stars.