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Associations

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Foodplant / spot causer
effuse colony of Botrytis dematiaceous anamorph of Botryotinia globosa causes spots on live leaf of Allium ursinum
Remarks: season: 5-6

Foodplant / pathogen
colony of Botrytis dematiaceous anamorph of Botrytis aclada infects and damages live leaf (base) of Allium ursinum

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Melampsora allii-fragilis parasitises live leaf of Allium ursinum

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / spot causer
caeomoid, grouped aecium of Melampsora allii-populina causes spots on live leaf of Allium ursinum
Remarks: season: 5
Other: uncertain

Plant / associate
mycelial muff of Morchella esculenta is associated with live root of Allium ursinum

Foodplant / visitor
adult of Myopa visits for nectar and/or pollen flower of Allium ursinum

Foodplant / miner
larva of Orthochaetes setiger mines leaf of Allium ursinum

Foodplant / pathogen
colony of sporangium of Peronospora destructor infects and damages live Allium ursinum
Other: minor host/prey

Plant / associate
ovum of Portevinia maculata is associated with plant of Allium ursinum
Remarks: season: 6-7
Other: sole host/prey

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Puccinia sessilis parasitises live leaf of Allium ursinum
Other: minor host/prey

Foodplant / parasite
telium of Uromyces ambiguus parasitises Allium ursinum

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Brief Summary

provided by EOL authors
Allium ursinum, known as ramsons or wild-, broad-leaved-, wood- or bear's garlic, is a monocot bulb-forming perennial plant native to Europe and Northern Asia, related to garlic (A. sativum) and chives (A. schoenoprasum). The Latin species epithet, “ursinum,” refers to bears—according to legend, ramsons is the first plant bears eat when they emerge from hibernation. Ramsons have broad leaves, to 4 cm wide and 30 cm long. Bulbs form from the base of a single leaf petiole (Tutin 1957). Plants typically have 2 or 3 leaves, but older, well-established plants may have more (Ernst 1977). The plants flower before deciduous trees leaf out in the spring. The scapes (leafless flower stems) are two- or three-angled, and the umbellate garlic-scented flowers produce capsules with seeds, rather than bulbils (aerial bulblets) typical of related species such as crow garlic (A. vineale) and field garlic (A. oleraceum). Ramsons grow in deciduous woodlands with moist soils, and often occur in monotypic stands, reproducing vegetatively as well as by seed. Observers have suggested that ramsons may inhibit competitors by producing allelopathic chemicals (toxic to other plants); like other members of the genus, the species produces organic disulphides that can inhibit plant growth. Ernst (1977), however, did not find evidence of allelopathy, but found that the heavy seeds, which are dispersed close to parent plants, have a low self-thinning rate, which could lead to dense stands. Ramsons leaves are edible and are used as a salad, an herb to flavor other dishes, boiled as a vegetable, in soup, or as an ingredient for pesto in lieu of basil. The stems are preserved by salting and eaten as a salad in Russia (Wikipedia 2011). Flowers or buds can be eaten in salad, and the bulbs are also edible. In Germany, ramsons are eaten as a spring tonic, to cleanse the system. Ramsons produce sulfide compounds similar to those found in garlic and onions, and appear to have similar medicinal effects, including antifungal and antimicrobial properties and cardiovascular benefits (Fern 2011, Koch and Lawson 1996). Studies have documented that its antiplatelet activity (which guards against cardiovascular disease), is similar to that of garlic (Hiyasat et al. 2009), and that it may reduce cardiac arrhythmias (Rietz et al. 1993). Ramsons have increased in popularity in recent years, and are widely collected from the wild in northern Europe. The plants are grown in home gardens (from bulbs or seed), but not commercially. Ramsons leaves are sometimes mistaken for those of three unrelated toxic and potentially deadly plants: lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis); autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale); and wild arum (Arum maculatum). In contrast to the poisonous species, ramsons leaves emit a garlic smell when broken or rubbed. Ramsons leaves each emerge from a separate green stem, whereas Convallaria majalis leaves grow on a single purple stem, and Colchicum autumnale leaves grow in a whorl from a single base. Arum maculatum have irregular edges and many deep veins, while ramsons leaves are convex with a single main vein (Wikipedia 2011).
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Jacqueline Courteau
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Allium ursinum

provided by wikipedia EN

Wild garlic in Hampshire, UK.

Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland.[2] It is a wild relative of onion and garlic, all belonging to the same genus, Allium. There are two recognized subspecies: A. ursinum subsp. ursinum and A. ursinum subsp. ucrainicum.[3]

Etymology

The Latin specific name ursinum translates to 'bear' and refers to the supposed fondness of the brown bear for the bulbs; folk tales describe the bears consuming them after awakening from hibernation.[3] Another theory is that the "ursinum" may refer to Ursa Major, as A. ursinum was perhaps one of the most northerly distributed Allium species known to the ancient Greeks,[3] though this hypothesis is disputed.[4] Common names for the plant in many languages also make reference to bears.[5]

Cows love to eat them, hence the modern vernacular name of cows's leek.[6] In Devon, dairy farmers have occasionally had the milk of their herds rejected because of the garlic flavour imparted to it by the cows having grazed upon the plant.[7]

Ramsons is from the Saxon word hramsa, meaning "garlic". There is evidence it has been used in English cuisine since Celtic Britons over 1,500 years ago.[8]

Early healers among the Celts, Gaels, Teutonic tribes and ancient Romans were familiar with the wild herb and called it herba salutaris, meaning 'healing herb'.[9]

Description

Illustration from Otto Wilhelm Thomé's book Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885

Allium ursinum is a bulbous, perennial herbaceous monocot, that reproduces primarily by seed. The narrow bulbs are formed from a single leaf base[10] and produce bright green entire, elliptical leaves up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long x 7 cm (2.8 in) wide with a petiole up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long.[10] The inflorescence is an umbel of six to 20 white flowers, lacking the bulbils produced by some other Allium species such as Allium vineale (crow garlic) and Allium oleraceum (field garlic).[11][10]: 394 [12]: 902  The flowers are star-like with six white tepals, about 16–20 mm (0.63–0.79 in) in diameter, with stamens shorter than the perianth.[10]

It flowers in the British Isles from April to June,[10]: 394  starting before deciduous trees leaf in the spring. The flower stem is triangular in cross-section and the leaves are broadly lanceolate, similar to those of the toxic lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis).[3]

Distribution

It is native to temperate regions of Europe, from Ireland east to the Caucasus. It is common in much of the lowlands of the British Isles with the exception of the far north of Scotland, Orkney, Shetland, and the Channel Islands.[13] The ursinum subspecies is found in western and central Europe, while the ucrainicum subspecies is found in the east and southeast.[3]

Herbal remedy

Allium ursinum has been credited with many medicinal qualities and is a popular homeopathic ingredient. It is often used for treating cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive problems, as well as for the sterilisation of wounds. [14]

Various minerals are found in much higher amounts in Allium ursinum than in clove garlic. It is sometimes called the “magnesium king” of plants because of the high levels of this mineral found in the leaves.

Habitat

A. ursinum completely covers the forest floor in early May. From the forest of Riis Skov in Denmark.
Baerlauch Bluete01.jpg

It grows in deciduous woodlands with moist soils, preferring slightly acidic conditions. In the British Isles, colonies are frequently associated with bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), especially in ancient woodland. It is considered to be an ancient woodland indicator species.[15]

Allium ursinum in cooking

All parts of the Allium ursinum plant are edible and have culinary uses, including the flower which can be used to garnish salads.

The leaves of the Allium ursinum are the most popular part to be used in food. Leaves can be used in raw salads and carry a very subtle garlicky flavour similar to that of garlic chives. When picked the leaves bruise, making them smell even stronger. When cooked the flavour of the leaves becomes softer and sweeter.

The leaf is often chopped and used to replace garlic and other herbs in many recipes. The bulb can be used in a similar way to clove garlic.

Popular dishes using the plant include pesto, soups, pasta, cheese, scones and Devonnaise.

Edibility

The leaves of A. ursinum are edible; they can be used as salad, herb,[16] boiled as a vegetable,[17] in soup, or as an ingredient for a sauce that may be a substitute for pesto in lieu of basil. Leaves are also often used to make garlic butter.[18] The stems are preserved by salting and eaten as a salad in Russia. A variety of Cornish Yarg cheese has a rind coated in wild garlic leaves.[19] The leaves can be pickled in the same way as Allium ochotense known as mountain garlic in Korea.[20] The bulbs and flowers are also edible. It is used for preparing herbed cheese, a Van speciality in Turkey.

The leaves are also used as fodder. Cows that have fed on ramsons give milk that tastes slightly of garlic, and butter made from this milk used to be very popular in 19th-century Switzerland.

The first evidence of the human use of A. ursinum comes from the Mesolithic settlement of Barkær (Denmark), where an impression of a leaf has been found. In the Swiss Neolithic settlement of Thayngen-Weier (Cortaillod culture), a high concentration of pollen from A. ursinum was found in the settlement layer, interpreted by some as evidence for the use of A. ursinum as fodder.[21]

Similarity to poisonous plants

Plants that may be mistaken for A. ursinum include lily of the valley, Colchicum autumnale, Arum maculatum, and Veratrum viride or Veratrum album,[22] all of which are poisonous. In Europe, where ramsons are popularly harvested from the wild, people are regularly poisoned after mistakenly picking lily of the valley or Colchicum autumnale.[23]

Grinding the leaves between the fingers and checking for a garlic-like smell can be helpful, but if the smell remains on the hands, one can mistake a subsequent poisonous plant for bear garlic.[23] When the leaves of A. ursinum and Arum maculatum first sprout, they look similar, but unfolded Arum maculatum leaves have irregular edges and many deep veins, while ramsons leaves are convex with a single main vein. The leaves of lily of the valley are paired, dull green and come from a single reddish-purple stem, while the leaves of A. ursinum emerge individually are initially shiny and are bright green.[24]: 320 

Allium ursinum in an English woodland

Ecology

As its name suggests, A. ursinum is an important food for brown bears.[25] The plant is also a favourite of wild boar.

A. ursinum is the primary larval host plant for a specialised hoverfly, ramsons hoverfly (Portevinia maculata).[26]

The flowers are pollinated by bees.[27]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ GRIN-CA Archived 2019-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  3. ^ a b c d e Sobolewska, Danuta; Podolak, Irma; Makowska-Wąs, Justyna (2015). "Allium ursinum: botanical, phytochemical and pharmacological overview". Phytochemistry Reviews. 14 (1): 81–97. doi:10.1007/s11101-013-9334-0. ISSN 1568-7767. PMC 4352197. PMID 25774103.
  4. ^ Kolosova, Valeria; Svanberg, Ingvar; Kalle, Raivo; Strecker, Lisa; Özkan, Ayşe Mine Gençler; Pieroni, Andrea; Cianfaglione, Kevin; Molnár, Zsolt; Papp, Nora; Łuczaj, Łukasz; Dimitrova, Dessislava (2017-02-21). "The bear in Eurasian plant names: motivations and models". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 13 (1): 14. doi:10.1186/s13002-016-0132-9. ISSN 1746-4269. PMC 5320662. PMID 28222790.
  5. ^ "Ramsons names - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  6. ^ "Home". Forager's Calendar. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  7. ^ "Home". Forager's Calendar. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  8. ^ Company, The Foraging Course (2022-03-28). "Foraging focus: wild garlic". Foraging Course Site. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  9. ^ Company, The Foraging Course (2022-03-28). "Foraging focus: wild garlic". Foraging Course Site. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  10. ^ a b c d e Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G.; Warburg, E.F. (1981). Excursion Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23290-2.
  11. ^ Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain. Reader's Digest. 1981. p. 383. ISBN 978-0-276-00217-5.
  12. ^ Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5.
  13. ^ "BSBI map Allium ursinum". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland.
  14. ^ Sobolewska, Danuta; Podolak, Irma; Makowska-Wąs, Justyna (December 25, 2013). "Allium ursinum: botanical, phytochemical and pharmacological overview". Phytochemistry Reviews. 14 (1): 81–97. doi:10.1007/s11101-013-9334-0. PMC 4352197. PMID 25774103.
  15. ^ British Wildlife - April 1999 - Francis Rose, Indicators of ancient woodland: The use of vascular plants in evaluating ancient woods for nature conservation, p. 246 Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Johannes Seidemann (2005). World spice plants. Springer. p. 27. ISBN 978-3-540-22279-8. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  17. ^ Institut Fur Pflanzengenetik Und Kulturpflanzenforschung Gatersleben (COR) (11 May 2001). Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: (Except Ornamentals). Springer. pp. 2251–. ISBN 978-3-540-41017-1. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  18. ^ "Wild Garlic – What You Need to Know – Obey Your Hunger".
  19. ^ "British Cheese Board - Lynher Farms & Dairies: Cornish Yarg". Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  20. ^ Koch, Ryusei Hosono, Matthias. "Pickled Mountain Garlic Korean Vegetarian Sidedish Recipe ✪ Japanese & Korean Recipes". Asiatischer Foodblog RyuKoch.com. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  21. ^ Kühn, Marlu; Maier, Ursula; Herbig, Christoph; Ismail-Meyer, Kristin; Bailly, Matthieu Le; Wick, Lucia (2013-02-01). "Methods for the examination of cattle, sheep and goat dung in prehistoric wetland settlements with examples of the sites Alleshausen-Täschenwiesen and Alleshausen-Grundwiesen (around cal 2900 BC) at Lake Federsee, south-west Germany". Environmental Archaeology. 18 (1): 43–57. doi:10.1179/1461410313Z.00000000017. ISSN 1461-4103. S2CID 140699993.
  22. ^ Gilotta, Irene; Brvar, Miran (2010). "Accidental poisoning with Veratrum album mistaken for wild garlic (Allium ursinum)". Clinical Toxicology. 48 (9): 949–952. doi:10.3109/15563650.2010.533675. ISSN 1556-3650. PMID 21171854. S2CID 207657813.
  23. ^ a b Risk of mix-up with bear's garlic - BfR warns pickers about fatal consequences of mistaking free-growing poisonous plants for bear’s garlic, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment; 2005
  24. ^ Blamey, M.; Fitter, R.; Fitter, A (2003). Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora. London: A & C Black. ISBN 978-1-4081-7950-5.
  25. ^ Kusak, Josip; Huber, Djuro (1998). "Brown Bear Habitat Quality in Gorski Kotar, Croatia". Ursus. 10: 281–291. ISSN 1537-6176. JSTOR 3873137.
  26. ^ Nature Spot - Portevinia maculata
  27. ^ Woodland Trust - Ramsons

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wikipedia EN

Allium ursinum: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN
Wild garlic in Hampshire, UK.

Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland. It is a wild relative of onion and garlic, all belonging to the same genus, Allium. There are two recognized subspecies: A. ursinum subsp. ursinum and A. ursinum subsp. ucrainicum.

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Wikipedia authors and editors
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