Photo by Daniel McClosky on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Ramps (wild leeks)
Allium tricoccum
This one has a dangerous look-alike
Lily of the valley and false hellebore grow in the same woods and are toxic. Neither smells of onion; false hellebore has pleated, ribbed leaves.
- When
- Typically April – May — April, May. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Rich, moist hardwood forest — maple, beech and basswood slopes, often in large colonies.
- How to know it
- Two or three smooth, flat, lily-like leaves rising from a single reddish stalk, and an unmistakable onion-garlic smell when crushed. If it does not smell of onion, it is not a ramp.
- Harvest and use
- Leaves in eggs, pesto and butter. Cut one leaf per plant and leave the bulb — colonies take seven years to replace a dug bulb.
- Caution
- Over-harvested across the east; Quebec restricts picking and sale. Take a few leaves, never the patch.
Found in these regions
- Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
- Acadian Forest & Atlantic Coast
- Appalachian Highlands
- Central Hardwoods & Interior Plateaus
- Northeast Atlantic Coast & Piedmont
- Boreal Forest & Shield
Hardiness zones 3–7.
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.