Wild Garlic

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Plant 🌿
🌿
Allium ursinum
Size10–45 cm tall Ankle to knee height when in full leaf
LifespanPerennial bulb
RarityCommon
M vs FN/A
HabitatDamp ancient woodland, shaded riverbanks, hedgebanks — a strong indicator of ancient woodland
Best timeMarch–May (leaves); April–June (flowers)
ConservationUK: Green LC
Did you know?
Wild Garlic carpets can cover entire woodland floors in April — you can smell a colony before you see it, the garlicky scent drifting hundreds of metres through the trees
More for experts
The leaves are edible and were used as a spring green for thousands of years — Iron Age and medieval communities gathered them heavily, and the plant is still harvested today
Often confused with
Three-cornered Garlic (triangular stem, bell-shaped flowers), Lily of the Valley (no smell — poisonous, similar leaf shape)