8. Allium tricoccum Aiton (wild leek, ramps)

Pl. 100 c, d; Map 402

Bulbs 2–6 cm long, ovoid, the outer coat a dense network of anastomosing, hairlike fibers. Aerial stems (12–)25–45 cm long, not inflated, usually erect to the tip, sometimes appearing to lack chlorophyll. Leaves absent at flowering (produced early in the spring and withering by flowering time), basal, 15–40 cm long, 30–80 mm wide, flat, elliptic to ovate, tapering to a petiole, the base tinged with reddish purple. Umbels with 20–60 flowers. Bulblets absent. Flower stalks much longer than the flowers. Perianth bell-shaped, the sepals and petals 4.5–6.0 mm long, ovate to obovate, the tips blunt to rounded, white. Fruits 4–6 mm long, depressed-globose, 3-lobed, each lobe usually with a pouchlike swelling near the middle. 2n=16. June–July.

Scattered in the northern half of the state and in the eastern Ozarks (northeastern U.S. and adjacent Canada west to North Dakota and Missouri). Mesic bottomland and mesic upland forests, mostly on rich, north-facing lower slopes of ravines, valleys, and bluff bases, mostly on calcareous substrates.

For a discussion of the relationship between this species and A. burdickii, see the treatment of that species. The young foliage of these two species can be cooked into a soup or eaten raw. In portions of the eastern United States, some towns have “ramps festivals” in the early spring to celebrate the role of these species in local cuisine.