Wild Ramps - Identifying, Foraging and Cooking Recipes

In early spring, the pungent leaves of the wild leek emerge on the forest floor! These plants are often referred to as ramps Allium tricococcum var and are considered a delicacy in Eastern North America. The city of Chicago is even named after them! Chicago is a french version of a Native American word shikaakwa that roughly translates to “Stinky Onion”. While the wild leeks are surely stinky, they one of my favorite spring wild edibles. The whole plant minus the crown is edible like its domesticated cousins onions and garlic. During the spring, I focus on harvesting the leaves rather than the bulbs.

Where to Find Ramps in the Wild

Wild Ramp leaves in a Tulip Poplar Bark Basket

Ramp leaves are a spring ephemeral and will disappear after a short window. So it is important to know where to look in the forest or else they will elude you. Ramp Season is in early spring from late march to mid may. Wild Leeks will grow in hardwood forests especially around rich, well drained soils. Their native range is Eastern North America; in some areas like North Carolina I only found ramps high in the mountains.

One of the best places to find wild ramps is near creeks that run through deciduous trees. Ramps grow mostly in partial shade on the forest floor. Other plants like wild Trillium flowers, Trout Lily and Bloodroot can often be found in the mix. These plants are indications of rich, well drained soil.

The young plants emerge in the early spring and begin to fade away as the trees leaf out. The ramp leaves may have a short growing season, but the bulbs remain in the ground all year long. The bulbs continue to get bigger even after the ramps seemingly disappear in early summer.

What States have Ramps?

Maine (except for the far eastern and far northern regions)

Vermont

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Massachusetts (Except for Cape Cod)

New York

Pennslyvannia

New Jersey

Ohio

West Virginia

Michigan

Wisconsin

Minnesota ( except for northeastern edge)

Iowa

Missouri (except southeastern missouri)

Illinois ( except for southeastern tip)

Kentucky (except western kentucky)

Virginia, only in the appalachian highlands

North Carolina, only in the appalachian highlands

Georgia, Only in northern Georgia

Alabama, only in Northern Alabama

Tennesee (except for western Tennesee)

Which Canadian Provinces have Ramps?

Ontario, only in the southern regions

Quebec, Only in the southern portion

New Brunswick, only in a limited section

Nova Scotia, only in a very limited section

Manitoba, Only in the south

Identifying the Wild Leek

Ramp leaves are light green with a waxy surface and they have a rhubarb color towards the base of the plants. They have a characteristic strong garlic odor which none of the lookalikes have. Wild Ramps usually have two leaves, sometimes three. The leaves of wild ramps grow singly and from the bulb of the plant. The bulb of the plant resembles a big scallion bulb and it has a crown with roots at the end.

Make sure you distinguish ramps from lily of the valley and its other poisonous before you eat these plants.

Potential Poisonous Look-a-like to ramps

False Hellebore via Wikimedia Commons

False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) is a cabbage looking plant whose habitat sometimes overlaps with wild leeks. At the early stages of growth, beginner foragers may confuse False hellebore with ramps. However there are some stark differences between the two plants.

False hellebore has leaves which grow from the stalk and the leaves are have ridges called parallel veins.
Ramps on the other hand have flat, smooth leaves that form in pairs or 3rds and they grow directly from the bulb.

False Hellebore grow in wetland areas like floodplains and marshes, where as Ramps tend to grow in rich soil higher in the hills and mountains. Although I have seen them growing in the same area in southern appalachia.

False Hellebore is toxic to consume, so make sure to get a positive identification on your wild leek before eating it!

Lily of the Valley is a poisonous look-a-like to ramps. Via wikimedia commons

Lily of the Valley (Lillium convallium) is another plant that looks similar to wild Leeks. Lily of the Valley emerges with whorled leaves that form around a center stem. Ramp Leaves form 2-3 leaves which grow separately from the bulb. Ramps emerge in the early spring, whereas Lily of the Valley surfaces in mid spring. Lily of the valley will develop his flower stalks much earlier than ramps will.

Follow your Nose!

Smell is the best way to distinguish Ramps from any of it's look a likes. When you rip or crush the leaves of ramps you will get a strong garlic odor. You will not get the same smell from Lily of the Valley or False Hellebore. Wild Onions and Garlic Mustard also have a garlic odor, but both species are edible as well.

Harvesting Ramps Sustainably

Wild Leeks are considered to be a fairly rare plant, ramp patches are few and far between. However when you finally encounter a ramp patch, you'll find hundreds if not thousands of plants. When you I come across dense colonies of wild ramps like this, it's easy to get overzealous and start over harvesting ramps.

I try to remember these plants take a long time to regenerate and expand the range. You want to harvest less than 10% of any given population. So to collect this in a non-lethal fashion I collect one leaf per plant, leaving most of the ramp patch alone. When I harvest ramps, I gather only a few leaves in singular day. That way none go to waste.

When I do decide to harvest the bulb, I make sure to leave the root crown behind in the soil. So as I'm harvesting the bulb, I'll break the crown off by twisting or bending the plants as I pull it out of the ground This allows way of harvesting allows the crown a potential to regenerate the bulb in the soil.

Growing Ramps and Increasing Wild Populations

While the bulbs can be harvested in the spring, the best time to harvest would be in the fall. Ramps will produce seed pods in the mid to late summer.

The bulbs are much thicker and larger at that point and the ramps have also released their seeds. I like to plant the ramp seeds in the soil where I harvested the ramps, so another bulb can grow there. I think it's important to be good stewards of this wild edible and ensure its health and propagation for the future generation of Allium tricoccum var.

In my experience ramps usually form in large clusters when they're fully mature. Small patches of ramps must be fairly new or it has been over harvested in the past. When I see a small patch of ramps, I try to come back to these patches in mid to late summer and collect and spread the seeds. That they become a more mature and unified patch in the next generation.

I like to cultivate ramps in my garden as well! Cultivating Ramps can be as easy as transplanting the bulbs into your garden. The ramp seeds take a while to develop (as long as 18-24 months), but that is another option for those who like to plan ahead. Given the time it requires, I usually plant ramps using the bulbs. The bulbs can also replicate in the soil from the mother plant.

Ramp Recipes

Wild Edible Stirfry with ramps, violets, and dandelion.

Ramps are a highly revered culinary plant. They is even ramp festivals up and down the Appalachian mountain range with big gatherings in West Virginia and North Carolina. Ramps are highly versatile ranging from ramp compound butter and ramp pesto to pickled ramps and wild leek soup. Here is one my favorite recipes to make with ramps.

Wild Ramp and Morel Mushroom Pizza!

This recipe calling for:

5-10 Morel Mushrooms

5-7 Ramp Leaves

Pizza Dough

Pizza Sauce - Canned or Handmade

4 ozs of Mozzerella Cheese

First sauteed the morel mushrooms in a pan for 3 - 5 minutes.

Next stretch out the pizza dough on a flat surface

Top with pizza sauce, then mozzerella and finally add Morels.

You can add the ramps at this stage, but I feel it best to add them towards the end because they burn easily.

Bake the pizza until the dough is cooked all the way through and the cheese is melted.

Related Wild Allium Species

Wild Onion (Allium canadense) is known by many alias: spring onions, green onions, wild garlic, even onion grass. This wild allium is extremely common especially in lawns, meadows, and forest edges. These plants aren't quite as flavorful as ramps, but they are similar to domesticated scallions. Luckily, these plants are very abundant and can be gathered with ease. I like to add them to soups or make a delicious scallion pancake.

Onion Grass Scallion Pancake

Scallion Pancake Made with Onion Grass

The Onion Grass Scallion Pancake is an adaption of a traditional oriental dish. If you have never had a scallion pancake, it is airy garlicly bread rather than a buttermilk pancake. This recipe can be made with any allium species such as wild onions or ramps.

You will need:

A handful of wild onions or ramp leaves

Dough - I often use pizza dough

Butter + a good skillet

First heat up a skillet and lightly butter the pan.

Chop up the alliums into pieces

Mix the alliums with the dough

Spiral Dough into a circle and flatten

Add dough to the heated skillet

Cook 7 minutes or until brown

Flip and Cook for 5 minutes

Make sure dough is throughly cooked then serve.

Where to purchase Ramps

Wild Ramps are rarely found in supermarkets, but you can usually find them in local farmer's markets during ramp season. There are also online marketplaces like foraged.com which have fresh ramps, ramp salts, and ramp seeds. You can purchase on the site from foragers who have been vetted and have the goods shipped to your door.

Additional Resources

Samuel Thayer has detailed information about Ramps in his classic book, “A Forager’s Harvest”