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By: shortfinals
Tags: Allium, Allium ursinus, bear's garlic, broad-leaved garlic, buckrams, bulbs, chemist, chive, County Durham, damp, deciduous, domestic animals, Durham, Durham Cathedral, edible, England, Eurasian Brown Bear, European prehistoric peoples, flowers, fodder, food, garlic odour, German, leaves, naturopathic, odour, pungent, Ramsons, rose hips, salad, shady, Shincliffe, star-shaped, stems, sulphur, tower, Ursus arctos arctos, vampire, vampires, village, white flowers, wood garlic, woodland
Category: British Isles, England, Great Britain
| Aperture: | f/5 |
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| Focal Length: | 40mm |
| ISO: | 400 |
| Shutter: | 1/0 sec |
| Camera: | NIKON D40 |
Star-shaped, pure white flowers, a pungent odour; yes, it’s a bed of wild garlic!
A prolific relative of the chive, this plant grows in shady, damp locations, especially deciduous woodlands, all over Europe. This particular bed is in a lovely woodland near the village of Shincliffe, County Durham, within sight of the magnificent tower of Durham Cathedral. This member of the Allium family has many alternative names – wild garlic, buckrums, Ramsons, broad-leafed garlic, wood garlic, and, derived from its Latin name Allium ursinum, bear’s garlic. Eurasian Brown Bears (Ursus arctos arctos) love this plant, and grub it up for food in spring.
The wood garlic can be confused, when it is sprouting, with no less than three other plants, all of which are toxic! The best test is to crush the leaves between the fingers, when the strong garlic odour is released. Better still, wait until the flowers form as they are very distinctive. The flowers, bulbs, leaves and stems are ALL edible, and make a tasty addition to any salad.
Early European prehistoric peoples used A. ursinus for fodder for their domestic animals, and as food. Modern uses include a naturopathic compound, prepared by a German chemist, containing A. ursinus and rose hips which is supposed to increase a person’s energy, and utilises the plant’s high levels of sulphur (around 7.0%).
All in all, a really valuable plant. I, personally, think that the vampires are not scared away by the smell, but by the presence of so many brown bears!
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