Edible Plants of the World

Wild garlic, Bear’s Garlic, Ramsons, Ramps

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.

Also known as:

Aglio selvatico, Barenlauch, Broad-leaved garlic, Buckrams, čemaž, Cesnek medvedf, Cheremsha, Daslook, De zo, Div chesan, Ghandzili, Gipsy onion, Ramsay, Remza, Wood garlic

Synonyms

Edible Portion

Where does Wild garlic grow?

Found in: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Belarus, Bosnia, Britain, Bulgaria, Caucasus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Europe, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey

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.

Status: It is foraged and eaten in restaurants in Sweden.

Growing Wild garlic, Bear’s Garlic, Ramsons, Ramps

Cultivation: They can be grown from seed or by dividing clumps. Seed needs to be fresh. Seed germinate best at 6°C. Seed should be soaked overnight and planted 1 cm deep.

Edible 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.

Nutrition Info

per 100g edible portion

Edible Part Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Iron (mg) Vitamin A (ug) Vitamin c (mg) Zinc (mg) % Water
Leaves 12 - - - - -
Bulb - - - - - -
Flowers - - - - - -

References

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

Cerne, M., 1992, Wild Plants from Slovenia used as Vegetables. Acta Horticulturae 318.

Denes, A., et al, 2012, Wild plants used for food by Hungarian ethnic groups living in the Carpathian Basin. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 81 (4): 381-396

Dogan, Y., et al, 2015, Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 11:56

Esperanca, M. J., 1988. Surviving in the wild. A glance at the wild plants and their uses. Vol. 1. p 93

Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 7

Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 44

http://nordicfood lab/org/blog/2102/9/wild-edible-plants-an-overview

Irving, M., 2009, The Forager Handbook, A Guide to the Edible Plants of Britain. Ebury Press p 337

Kalle, R. & Soukand, R., 2012, Historical ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants of Estonia (1770s-1960s) Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 81(4):271-281

Luczaj, L., 2012, Ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants of Slovakia. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 81(4):245-255

Luczaj, L. et al, 2012, Wild food plant use in 21st century Europe: the disappearance of old traditions and the search for new cuisines involving wild edibles. Acta Soc Bot Pol 81(4):359–370

Łukasz Łuczaj and Wojciech M Szymański, 2007, Wild vascular plants gathered for consumption in the Polish countryside: a review. J Ethnobiol Ethnomedicine. 3: 17

Lukasz, L., et al, 2013, Wild edible plants of Belarus: from Rostafiński’s questionnaire of 1883 to the present. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2013, 9:21

Luczaj, L. et al, 2017, Comfrey and Buttercup Eaters: Wild Vegetables of the Imereti Region in Western Georgia, Caucasus. Economic Botany, 71(2), 2017, pp. 188–193

Mabey, R., 1973, Food for Free. A Guide to the edible wild plants of Britain, Collins. p 143

Michael, P., 2007, Edible Wild Plants and Herbs. Grub Street. London. p 175

Nedelcheva A., 2013, An ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in Bulgaria. EurAsian Journal of BioSciences 7, 77-94

Petkova, N., et al, 2019, Fructans and antioxidants in leaves of culinary herbs from Asteraceae and Amaryllidaceae families. Food Research 3 (5) : 407 - 415

Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/

Redzic, S. J., 2006, Wild Edible Plants and their Traditional Use in the Human Nutrition in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 45:189-232

Sansanelli, S., et al, 2014, Wild food plants traditionall consumed in the area of Bologna (Emilia Romagna region, Italy). Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 10:69

Schunko, C., et al, 2010, Organic farmers use of wild food plants and fungi in a hilly area in Styria (Austria). Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 6:17

Seidemann J., 2005, World Spice Plants. Economic Usage, Botany, Taxonomy. Springer. p 26

Simkova, K. et al, 2014, Ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants used in the Czech Republic. Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality 88, 49-67

Smith, N., Mori, S.A., et al, 2004, Flowering Plants of the Neotropics. Princeton. Plate 53 (Photo)

Soukand, R., et al, 2017, Multi-functionality of the few: current and past uses of wild plants for food and healing in Liubań region, Belarus. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2017) 13:10

Sp. pl. 1:300. 1753

Turner, N. J. et al, 2011, Edible and Tended Wild Plants, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Agroecology. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 30:198-225

Vermeulen, N, 1998, The Complete Encyclopedia of Herbs. Rebo Publishers. p 39

Woodward, P., 1996, Garlic and Friends. The History, Growth and Use of Edible Alliums. Hyland House. p 174