Ramps

Now is the time of year that Ramps begin to appear, and ramp festivals abound in West Virginia and surrounding mountain areas.  For a list of festivals and dinners go HERE , which also has links to information, recipes, etc.  An article on digging ramps is HERE .

There is even a ramp farm with mail order service HERE or order from  Earthy Delights  which also sells fiddleheads, mushrooms, and many other items.

Allium Tricoccum (three-seeded garlick). A native of North America; six inches in height, with white flowers, which are produced in July. Increased by offsets. Introduced in 1770, by Mr. W. Young.
Miller, Phillip.  The Gardeners Dictionary. London: 1835 9th ed.

Allium tricoccum - Wild Leek.   Bulbs ovoid, clustered, high, seated on a short rootstock, their coats fibrous-reticulated. Leaves oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, appearing early in the spring, but withering and disappearing before flowering time, 6'-12' long, 1'-2' wide, narrowed at both ends, tapering into a long petiole...

In rich woods, New Brunswick to Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Tennessee. Often grows in large beds. Ascends to 4500 ft. in North Carolina. June-July.
Britton, Nathaniel Lord.  An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada....  New York: 1896
The image is from the Britton book.

©2013 Patricia Bixler Reber

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