Plant of the week: Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum)

Green shoots start to appear early in the year and are followed by frothy white flowers; the aroma is breathtaking.

After flowering, the plant dies down.

The leaves are said to be delicious raw or cooked, and the flowers, although stronger in flavour, can be added to salads. The bulb can also be eaten raw or cooked.

Like cultivated garlic, A sativum, wild garlic is claimed to reduce high blood pressure and blood cholesterol – and keep vampires at bay.

Allium ursinum is also known as ramsons, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic or bear's garlic and is a wild relative of chives.

The Latin name stems from the fact that brown bears love the bulbs and dig up the ground to get at them.

YP MAG 1/5/10