Wild Leek

Also Ramp

The wild leek, with a scallion-slim stalk streaked with violet and graceful leaves resembling those of lily of the valley, has a wild and woodsy aroma and ferocious onion-garlic flavor despite its ladylike appearance. It flourishes in rich forest soil, generally within sugar-maple groves, from Canada through New England to Georgia and as far west as Minnesota. In the southern Appalachians it is called ramp, and its appearance is the cause of spring celebrations throughout the area—notably the Ramp Romp in West Virginia. Wild leek is unusual for an onion: it has uncharacteristically broad and tapering leaves that emerge in the early spring, then die back soon after; and it is not until midsummer that the stalk, leafless at the time, begins to bloom.