Ramsons

Suitable for use in salads

Bear garlic, as green as grass and smelling of onions, often grows on mass. Characteristically the underside of the leaf - the surface that curves upwards and has a darker hue - is actually the upper surface. The white perianth, a cupped umbel, appears in April. In the Netherlands this rare species can cover large swathes of ground by themselves. Bear garlic is not able to readily multiply using bulbils, but depends mainly on its seeds - this is unusual for bulbous species. Towards the summer the plant dies away above ground and in doing so smells strongly of onions. Explanation of its scientific name: the garlic (Allium) on which bears (ursinum) feast after hibernation. The Dutch and English vernacular names, daslook (badger garlic) and ‘bear garlic’ respectively, refer to the fact that this plant is consumed by wild animals. The young leaf is a suitable salad ingredient and its elongated bulb can be used as a garlic substitute. In the past wild garlic was used for intestinal complaints and arteriosclerosis.

Ecology and habitat

In the wild, bear garlic grows on fairly nutrient-rich, calcareous soils in deciduous woods. They are locally abundant in Zuid-Limburg and in the dunes from Texel southwards. They also often occur as an introduced plant in parks and large manor houses, in the area of the main Dutch rivers, Utrecht and in the north of the country. The Netherlands lies on the northwestern edge of its natural distribution in Europe.

Threat

In the past bear garlic was harvested as wild garlic or wild onion.Because it is restricted in the wild to those woods only growing on calcareous soils in Zuid-Limburg, the plant is legally protected. This legal protection serves to prevent it from being dug up.