Photo by Public domain (iNaturalist) on iNaturalist · CC0 (public domain)

GreenSeason: March – May

Wild garlic (ramsons)

Allium ursinum

This one has a dangerous look-alike

Lily of the valley, autumn crocus (meadow saffron) and lords-and-ladies come up in the same places, and every spring people in Europe are poisoned after picking them as wild garlic; autumn crocus has killed. Lily of the valley has two or three duller leaves wrapped round one stem; autumn crocus makes a stalkless tuft; arum leaves are arrow-shaped and net-veined. None of them smells of garlic.

When: Typically March – May — March, April, May. Earlier in warm, low country; later in the hills.
Where it grows: Damp, shady deciduous woods, stream banks and old hedgerows, often carpeting the ground in spring — an ancient-woodland plant.
How to know it: Broad, bright green, smooth-edged leaves up to 25 cm (10 in) long, each on its own slender stalk straight from the ground, and a strong garlic smell from every crushed leaf. From April, round heads of white star-shaped flowers on a leafless stalk.
Harvest and use: Leaves raw or wilted — pesto, soup, butter, cheese — best before the flowers open; the flowers and green seed heads are good too. Cut leaves and leave the bulbs in the ground.
Caution: Crush and smell every leaf, not just the first — once your fingers smell of garlic, everything will. Never grab handfuls from a mixed patch.

Wild garlic (ramsons) at a glance

Also called: Ramsons, bear’s garlic, wood garlic, broad-leaved garlic, buckrams; ail des ours (France), Bärlauch (Germany), aglio orsino (Italy)
Family: Amaryllidaceae (the onion and garlic group)
Where it grows: Temperate Europe from Ireland and Britain east to the Caucasus: common in lowland Britain and Ireland (absent only from the far north of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland), and through France, the Low Countries, Germany, Poland, the Alps and the Carpathians. An eastern subspecies takes over in the east and south-east. A plant of moist deciduous woodland, often with bluebells.
When to pick: Leaves come up in late winter or early spring, before the trees leaf out — from late February in the mildest Atlantic woods, March and April further east and higher up. They are best before the flowers open, from April to June in Britain, and they yellow and die back by early summer.
Parts used: Leaves, flower buds, flowers and green seed heads, raw or cooked. The narrow bulbs are edible too, but digging them kills the plant, and in Britain uprooting any wild plant without the landowner’s permission is an offence.
More look-alikes to know: Lords-and-ladies (Arum maculatum) unfurls among wild garlic: open arum leaves are arrow-shaped with irregular edges and many veins in a net, often dark-spotted, where wild garlic leaves are smooth-edged with a single main vein. In the Alps and Carpathians, white false hellebore (Veratrum) has broad, pleated, strongly ribbed leaves spiralling up a stout stem, and has been eaten in salads and soups as wild garlic.

Questions people ask about wild garlic

What looks like wild garlic but is poisonous?

Lily of the valley, autumn crocus (meadow saffron), lords-and-ladies and, in the mountains, white false hellebore. All grow where wild garlic grows, none smells of garlic, and people are poisoned every spring after picking them by mistake. Autumn crocus has killed foragers: its colchicine has no antidote.

How do you tell wild garlic from lily of the valley?

Look at how the leaves grow and smell them. Each wild garlic leaf rises on its own stalk from the ground, bright green and slightly glossy, and smells of garlic when crushed. Lily of the valley has two or three duller leaves wrapped around one reddish-purple stem, and no smell. In flower, wild garlic has a round head of white stars; lily of the valley has nodding white bells.

When is wild garlic season?

Late winter to late spring. The leaves appear in February or March and are at their best before the flowers open in April and May; by early summer they have yellowed and gone.

Can you eat wild garlic flowers?

Yes. The flowers can go raw into salads, and the buds and green seed heads are eaten too. The flavour of the whole plant is gentler than a garlic bulb.

Is it legal to pick wild garlic?

Picking leaves for your own use is generally fine where you have access, but in Britain uprooting any wild plant without the landowner’s permission is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and nature reserves have their own rules. Cut leaves; leave the bulbs.

Found in these regions

Hardiness zones 4–8.

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Checked against these sources · last reviewed October 2026

Seasons are typical for the middle of the range and move by weeks north and south, and up and down hills.

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.

Wild garlic (ramsons)

Allium ursinum

This one has a dangerous look-alike

When

Typically March – May — March, April, May. Earlier in warm, low country; later in the hills.

Where it grows

Damp, shady deciduous woods, stream banks and old hedgerows, often carpeting the ground in spring — an ancient-woodland plant.

How to know it

Broad, bright green, smooth-edged leaves up to 25 cm (10 in) long, each on its own slender stalk straight from the ground, and a strong garlic smell from every crushed leaf. From April, round heads of white star-shaped flowers on a leafless stalk.

Harvest and use

Leaves raw or wilted — pesto, soup, butter, cheese — best before the flowers open; the flowers and green seed heads are good too. Cut leaves and leave the bulbs in the ground.

Caution

Crush and smell every leaf, not just the first — once your fingers smell of garlic, everything will. Never grab handfuls from a mixed patch.

Wild garlic (ramsons) at a glance

Also called

Ramsons, bear’s garlic, wood garlic, broad-leaved garlic, buckrams; ail des ours (France), Bärlauch (Germany), aglio orsino (Italy)

Family

Amaryllidaceae (the onion and garlic group)

Where it grows

Temperate Europe from Ireland and Britain east to the Caucasus: common in lowland Britain and Ireland (absent only from the far north of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland), and through France, the Low Countries, Germany, Poland, the Alps and the Carpathians. An eastern subspecies takes over in the east and south-east. A plant of moist deciduous woodland, often with bluebells.

When to pick

Leaves come up in late winter or early spring, before the trees leaf out — from late February in the mildest Atlantic woods, March and April further east and higher up. They are best before the flowers open, from April to June in Britain, and they yellow and die back by early summer.

Parts used

Leaves, flower buds, flowers and green seed heads, raw or cooked. The narrow bulbs are edible too, but digging them kills the plant, and in Britain uprooting any wild plant without the landowner’s permission is an offence.

More look-alikes to know

Lords-and-ladies (Arum maculatum) unfurls among wild garlic: open arum leaves are arrow-shaped with irregular edges and many veins in a net, often dark-spotted, where wild garlic leaves are smooth-edged with a single main vein. In the Alps and Carpathians, white false hellebore (Veratrum) has broad, pleated, strongly ribbed leaves spiralling up a stout stem, and has been eaten in salads and soups as wild garlic.

Questions people ask about wild garlic

What looks like wild garlic but is poisonous?