An obscure edible spring ground cover

05/11/2005
An obscure edible spring ground cover

Here's a riddle for you: name a plant that is native in both Europe and the U.S., likes shade, and tastes delicious. If you answered Allium ursinum, you'd get a gold star. If "ramps" was your reply, silver star for you. If you're a French wildflower enthusiast like me, you might have piped up with "l'ail des ours", which translates as "bears' garlic." Whatever you call it, this allium is as delightful in the garden as in the kitchen, and is a wonderful wild garden plant to boot.

Of all its names, I think I like bears' garlic the best. It's a direct translation of the plant's Latin name, which probably stems from the fact that this must be about the only allium whose preferred habitat is the deep shade of moist woodlands--ostensibly where bears hang out. I am unable to testify whether bears actually like to eat the plant.



But I certainly do. Bear's garlic covers the ground densely in spring with wide, strap-like shiny leaves. The moment you touch them, they give off a mouth-watering garlic odor, which is a dead giveaway for identification of the plant. Eat a leaf and you'll find it full of flavor, somewhere between garlic and leek in bouquet, but not as pungent as either. Bears' garlic is wonderful chopped into spring salads, or used like sorrel or leeks in soups and quiche. Its succulent leaves are not at all fibrous and melt down in volume when cooked, becoming very mild in flavor. Known as "ramps" in Appalachia, the plant is almost as sought-after as spring morels for its delicious taste and reputed spring tonic qualities. Indeed, it is rich in Vitamins A and C as well as in minerals.



Bears' garlic makes a stunning spring ground cover. It looks superb mixed with the American natives Virginia bluebell and celandine poppy, with which it shares the exact same preferences of habitat--moist shade and deep, humusy soil. And like these lovely flowers, it is a spring ephemeral, going dormant over the dry summer season. Plus, bears' garlic has beautiful blossoms of its own: starry umbels of pure white which you can choose to leave in the landscape, pick for bouquets, or scatter into salads.

The only trick about growing bears' garlic is finding a source for it. If you know of a wild patch, I recommend harvesting some of the seeds and sowing them in an appropriate spot in your shade garden. Finding your own seeds in the woods somewhere may be easier than locating a nursery supplier for this little-known spring gem!

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