Description
Wild Garlic scientifically known as Ramsons, bear’s garlic, buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, gipsy onion, hog’s garlic, ramsomes and wild leek is a wild relative of chives. It is a part of the large Amaryllidaceae family, represented by 59 genera and over 850 species all over the world. As a member of the Allium genus, bear’s garlic is closely related to herbs like onion (Allium cepa), garlic (Allium sativum) leek (Allium ampeloprasum), and chive (Allium schoenoprasum). Its botanical name, Allium ursinum, is derived from the Latin ursus, meaning bear. It was named bear’s garlic because it is a true spring treat for bears that have just woken up from their winter slumber. The plant is native to damp shaded woods in Europe and northern Asia.
Used traditionally throughout Europe as a spring tonic due to its blood-purifying properties, similarly to bulb garlic, wild garlic is also thought to lower cholesterol and blood-pressure, which in turn helps to reduce the risk of diseases such as heart attack or stroke.
