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Other common names: Ramps Family:
Onion Family (Alliaceae)
Distinctive features: Grows from onion-like bulbs. Leaves and bulbs
smell like onions. Similar species:
-
Trout Lily - Leaves are
mottled. Flowers same time as leaves are out. Leaves do not smell like
onions.
- Clintonia - Leaves do not smell like onions. Comes up later in the
season.
Height: Up to about 8"
Flowers: The flowers bloom well after the leaves have appeared. In
fact, the leaves die off and disappear before the flowers bloom. Because of
the bloom time of the flowers this is classed as a "summer" plant, although
it is one of the first to appear in the spring!
Leaves: Leaves appear well before the flowers. Wild Leeks are
among the first plants to come up in the spring.
Stem: Flower stem smooth, without leaves.
Habitat: Forests
Longevity: Annual.
Comments:
Wild Leeks are onion-like plants that grow in the deep woods.
They come up in the spring, usually before much of anything else
has come up.
The leaves and bulbs are edible. Please only collect
when abundant, and then only collect scattered patches or individual plants.
Ill effects may be experienced by some people if large amounts are eaten. If
they don't smell like onions, they aren't Wild Leeks.
**Please note that Wild Leeks have become quite rare in Quebec due to
professional pickers denuding the woods of them. Now the same thing is
happening in eastern Ontario! Unfortunately, this means that they should
probably be protected and treated like a rare or threatened plant. Once
again, greed is spoiling something for everyone. The information on this page has been taken from my
Ontario Wildflowers
website. |
