Ramps

Allium tricoccum

Ramps are one of Appalachian food culture's most coveted plants and one of the woodland garden's most useful spring ephemerals. The broad, smooth leaves emerge in March and April with a powerful garlic-onion fragrance, filling a woodland garden with a scent that's pungent and satisfying. They're edible raw, sauteed, pickled, or dried -- every part of the plant, from leaf to bulb, has culinary value, and ramps festivals in mountain communities celebrate their arrival every spring. After the leaves die back in late spring, small white flower clusters appear on leafless stems in June -- delicate and lovely, attracting small native bees. The plant spreads slowly by offsets and seed to form colonies over years in rich, moist woodland soil. Patience is required; ramps are worth it.