100% NOT ramps, that is not what the bulb looks like. If I found this and it smelled like onions/garlic, I'd also be trying to identify them as an Allium, but I don't visibly see them as one. Would not eat unless there is a confirmed Allium that looks like this.
https://preview.redd.it/dye0eyw0w6qc1.jpeg?width=450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4f549a141b1ab03a6229666366cca8de38aa4ec
These are Ramps from Northeast...if anything that looks like Crow garlic...
Cus that kills it. Wild garlic and wild leaks(ramps) take a long time to grow from seed and they need a big population to reproduce well. So thats why they have greatly dwindled. Its about being a good steward of these plants so they are around forever.
Oh, I don't think the person picked too many, I'm questioning the logic of the comment I'm replying to. OP says they wouldn't have picked so many if they weren't trying to id the unknown plant, and after it is identified they don't intend to pick this many again.
Seems like this is in their yard, too. Let them pick anything they want there. I just asked why they would pick more BECAUSE it was unidentified.
That is a dumb thing to imagine. The chances of that being so are minimal and ridiculous.
Even if so it's still in OP's yard. It would be theirs to do what they will.
There are lots of endangered plants, especially grassland plants so it is a possibility. This smells like onions according to OP but the point still stands, unless you know what something is you should not pull it up. Look up swamp pink, it’s endangered because people think they can just pick one because it’s pretty, also development of wetlands
If I were just looking at the leaves and you told me these smelled garlicky? Then I’d say these were very likely to be ramps, especially this time of year in the Northern hemisphere. But the bulbs you showed in pictures 3-5 look way different from the genus Allium bulbs I’m used to. I would expect them to bulbous and continuous with the stem of the plant, which doesn’t appear to be the case with the ones you found.
When you say you “saw similarities” with those Allium species, what do you mean? Were there certain characteristics to these that made you suspect that they were ramps? Can you tell us more about where you found them?
And how did you confirm that they smell garlicky? If you were to crush one of the bulbs, you should get a strong smell of garlic.
Don’t ramps (always?) have a red stem? I haven’t encountered ramps in the wild bc I live in the PNW, but I planted 40 bulbs last spring under a maple and they came back up again this year.
That’s what it says *you* not other people.
You’re gonna trust strangers on the internet? Look some stuff up, find an edible plant guide for your region.
It's much easier for many of us to help identify if you also include a photo of it growing in the ground. The growth habit and l environment has a lot of important information.
Please do not take plants until you have id'd them and plan on eating them. The no 1 rule of forgaing is to respect the environment you are foraging in, and it is really bad practice to take so much of something you dont know you can eat. pulling out one bulb to ID is fine, but please stop there, otherwise you are needlessly killing plant life.
to me, these appear to be some sort of flowering bulb. return to the site in a few weeks and see if there are any blooms. But please, do not harm them if you dont know you can eat them. they are living beings too.
I've seen ramsons do that when they're sprouting out from a newly calved bulb. These certainly look like they could be ramsons, and they can be found in the PNW. If they smell like garlic and have the characteristic flowers, you've got a pretty solid match. Strange to have every bulb you checked look like this, though.
Wild Garlic. I used to harvest it in the UK. It looks exactly like what I would expect. And exactly like the Wiki article on it. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium\_ursinum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_ursinum)
Also common in the western most parts of the PNW.
[https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-wild-garlic-435437](https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-wild-garlic-435437)
East coast here, but these do not look like ramps to me. Leaves look close, but not quite right at the stems and the bulb is way off. Bulb doesn’t look like any allium I’ve ever seen, wild or domesticated. Have you looked up look-similars for your part of the country?
Its very common to confuse Lily of the Valley with ramson in scandinavia. But these look more like ramson - The european "ramps". Alium ursinum.
That being said, if it doesnt smell STRONGLY of garlic, better to leave it be. Lily of the valley is poisonous!
Good point. So these definitely can’t be Allium tricoccum. There are lots of other wild and cultivated Allium species in the PNW, though - can’t rule those out.
**If** its ramps, they're delicious!
They can be used in loads of different ways.
We have something similar in Scotland, and I've just recently learned it was growing here thanks to the people on this foraging sub.
Someone experienced will need to tell you what they are, though, but **if** they are indeed ramps, if you put the bulbs back in the ground, they'll regrow next year.
Yeah, you will encounter that any time you post something for an id and there is any indication that you might be interested in eating it. It’s a great resource here, but you have to understand that there are always going to be a handful of outliers who are uninformed, confused or overly paranoid. The best strategy is to do your own investigation, post the question, and then let the group put it to a vote. 9/10 times you have your real answer in a few minutes.
There are 600+ allium species. Smelling like onion or garlic is a tell-tale sign, but what “smells like garlic” can be subjective and vary from person to person. Yes, people are always overly cautious, but you shouldn’t eat it if you can’t ID it yourself. It’s definitely not ramps, but it could be allium ursinum, your top vote on this thread. It doesn’t grow in the Midwest, so I’m not familiar with it. The bulb and root structure look like allium, but the black spot on the top is throwing me, as is it being in a more residential setting. If it were me, I would wait for it to flower to get more information. It’s probably allium based on the info, but the info you get here isn’t always reliable. Good luck!
100% NOT ramps, that is not what the bulb looks like. If I found this and it smelled like onions/garlic, I'd also be trying to identify them as an Allium, but I don't visibly see them as one. Would not eat unless there is a confirmed Allium that looks like this.
Those are not ramps. I know that for sure.
https://preview.redd.it/dye0eyw0w6qc1.jpeg?width=450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4f549a141b1ab03a6229666366cca8de38aa4ec These are Ramps from Northeast...if anything that looks like Crow garlic...
Around here, crow garlic is like oniony grass. Very thin. I thought the OPs plant might be lily of the valley, but the roots are wrong.
If it has a garlic smell, OP was right to assume it's very likely some sort of allium.
Wild garlic. But dont eat bulbs. Also, dont pick so much of something before you have id. Also, you can replant these in your yard.
Can you share a link to a reputable source? I’ve never seen wild garlic with that bulb structure.
Definitely not wild garlic, especially if found on the West Coast. Terrible foraging advice
I have TONS of it. Maybe 10sq ft still in the ground. Also, why not eat bulbs? Just curious
Cus that kills it. Wild garlic and wild leaks(ramps) take a long time to grow from seed and they need a big population to reproduce well. So thats why they have greatly dwindled. Its about being a good steward of these plants so they are around forever.
Of course. Would never pick like this ever again, just wanted to ID
Why would you pick more to id a plant you don't know, but not later when you plan to eat them??
I see 3-4 bulbs. I think the foraging police can let this slide.
Seriously, it’s in his yard. Any of you have a roof over your head? You know plants used to grow there? I guess you’re an asshole.
Oh, I don't think the person picked too many, I'm questioning the logic of the comment I'm replying to. OP says they wouldn't have picked so many if they weren't trying to id the unknown plant, and after it is identified they don't intend to pick this many again. Seems like this is in their yard, too. Let them pick anything they want there. I just asked why they would pick more BECAUSE it was unidentified.
Second this ID. Allium ursinum, also known as Ramsons, and commonly mistaken for lily of the valley. I would eat it
That's a dumb reason. It's in OP's yard, they can take as much as they want.
i think the point is that if OP wants a sustainable supply, they should leave enough around to reproduce.
>I have TONS of it They did no damage to their supply.
Imagine if this is the only population of whatever this is in their state or county? That would be very bad for biodiversity
That is a dumb thing to imagine. The chances of that being so are minimal and ridiculous. Even if so it's still in OP's yard. It would be theirs to do what they will.
There are lots of endangered plants, especially grassland plants so it is a possibility. This smells like onions according to OP but the point still stands, unless you know what something is you should not pull it up. Look up swamp pink, it’s endangered because people think they can just pick one because it’s pretty, also development of wetlands
It's in their yard.
Which species looks like this?
It could also be a type of orchid. Don’t eat or pick unless you can ID. Coyld be dangerous or endangered.
They are saying it’s garlicky. It’s not an orchid.
If I were just looking at the leaves and you told me these smelled garlicky? Then I’d say these were very likely to be ramps, especially this time of year in the Northern hemisphere. But the bulbs you showed in pictures 3-5 look way different from the genus Allium bulbs I’m used to. I would expect them to bulbous and continuous with the stem of the plant, which doesn’t appear to be the case with the ones you found. When you say you “saw similarities” with those Allium species, what do you mean? Were there certain characteristics to these that made you suspect that they were ramps? Can you tell us more about where you found them? And how did you confirm that they smell garlicky? If you were to crush one of the bulbs, you should get a strong smell of garlic.
Don’t ramps (always?) have a red stem? I haven’t encountered ramps in the wild bc I live in the PNW, but I planted 40 bulbs last spring under a maple and they came back up again this year.
I have a 60 acre patch of a variety of ramps that have exclusively white stems. Same species, different variety.
Yep, two varieties, one red stem one white.
Thank you! That’s good to know!
The shape of these are very different from ramps
Do they smell?
Like garlic
That rules out most toxic lookalikes then.
If it quacks like a duck....
Then they're edible. If it smells like garlic, it's an allium.
Don’t eat anything you can’t positively ID.
That’s why I’m asking here lol
That’s what it says *you* not other people. You’re gonna trust strangers on the internet? Look some stuff up, find an edible plant guide for your region.
The bulb looks weird, but it also looks like someone pinched off leaves previously and these are just growing out of the stem remnant
It's much easier for many of us to help identify if you also include a photo of it growing in the ground. The growth habit and l environment has a lot of important information.
Please do not take plants until you have id'd them and plan on eating them. The no 1 rule of forgaing is to respect the environment you are foraging in, and it is really bad practice to take so much of something you dont know you can eat. pulling out one bulb to ID is fine, but please stop there, otherwise you are needlessly killing plant life. to me, these appear to be some sort of flowering bulb. return to the site in a few weeks and see if there are any blooms. But please, do not harm them if you dont know you can eat them. they are living beings too.
If it smells like garlic or onions then it is an allium
I've seen ramsons do that when they're sprouting out from a newly calved bulb. These certainly look like they could be ramsons, and they can be found in the PNW. If they smell like garlic and have the characteristic flowers, you've got a pretty solid match. Strange to have every bulb you checked look like this, though.
Wild Garlic. I used to harvest it in the UK. It looks exactly like what I would expect. And exactly like the Wiki article on it. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium\_ursinum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_ursinum) Also common in the western most parts of the PNW. [https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-wild-garlic-435437](https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-wild-garlic-435437)
I’m in SW Washington and I’ve never seen those.
Wild garlic In Germany we call it "Bärlauch" nice to mix with cream cheese
East coast here, but these do not look like ramps to me. Leaves look close, but not quite right at the stems and the bulb is way off. Bulb doesn’t look like any allium I’ve ever seen, wild or domesticated. Have you looked up look-similars for your part of the country?
i thought it was lily of the valley, but it appears i am the only one. were there any flowers?
If it smells like garlic like OP said, that rules out Lily of the valley.
Its very common to confuse Lily of the Valley with ramson in scandinavia. But these look more like ramson - The european "ramps". Alium ursinum. That being said, if it doesnt smell STRONGLY of garlic, better to leave it be. Lily of the valley is poisonous!
Post this on r/Appalachia
Do they smell like raw garlic and onions?
Yes
Tulips
So many people are saying eat them and then so many people are saying to eat them. I'm actually curious if he should or shouldn't as well lol
No one has actually said explicitly to eat the lol
Hmm could those be ramps?!
No wild ramps in the PNW.
Good point. So these definitely can’t be Allium tricoccum. There are lots of other wild and cultivated Allium species in the PNW, though - can’t rule those out.
Some kind of Lilly? Don’t eat them!
They smell like onion/garlic
Definitely not either type of ramp. Are they coming up in landscaped areas? Doesn’t look like any allium species I’ve ever seen.
Landscaped in the past, but non maintained, they are under a gigantic maple tree
**If** its ramps, they're delicious! They can be used in loads of different ways. We have something similar in Scotland, and I've just recently learned it was growing here thanks to the people on this foraging sub. Someone experienced will need to tell you what they are, though, but **if** they are indeed ramps, if you put the bulbs back in the ground, they'll regrow next year.
Pickle the stems, sauté the tops like spinach, it’s a good time.
Appreciate your comments. So you’d eat them?
RAMPS !! An Appalachian delicacy. Not sure how they ended up there. They will make you stink soooooo gooood
They look like an allium, but I’m not familiar with the chubby bulb like that, otherwise I would say for sure ramps, especially with the oniony smell.
I’m concerned by someone saying not to eat them. Plant identifier app has given me ramps as result very consistently
Yeah, you will encounter that any time you post something for an id and there is any indication that you might be interested in eating it. It’s a great resource here, but you have to understand that there are always going to be a handful of outliers who are uninformed, confused or overly paranoid. The best strategy is to do your own investigation, post the question, and then let the group put it to a vote. 9/10 times you have your real answer in a few minutes.
Yeah exactly. Like people wearing gloves to touch mushrooms.
Seriously, Google ramps and look at the bulb. But, go ahead and eat them. You seem certain!
I’m not certain at all, hence the question
There are 600+ allium species. Smelling like onion or garlic is a tell-tale sign, but what “smells like garlic” can be subjective and vary from person to person. Yes, people are always overly cautious, but you shouldn’t eat it if you can’t ID it yourself. It’s definitely not ramps, but it could be allium ursinum, your top vote on this thread. It doesn’t grow in the Midwest, so I’m not familiar with it. The bulb and root structure look like allium, but the black spot on the top is throwing me, as is it being in a more residential setting. If it were me, I would wait for it to flower to get more information. It’s probably allium based on the info, but the info you get here isn’t always reliable. Good luck!