Wild Flowers Of Strathclyde Park
  
 

Ramsons
Allium ursinum
of the Lily family
a perennial
25-45 cm high
blooms April-June
likes dim, damp places like woodland, meadows, banks
can be seen along the Clyde




    
The name "Ramsons" probably arises from an Anglo-Saxon word for 'rank' - referring to the unpleasant odour and taste of milk from cows which have eaten the plant. The chopped leaves have been used as garlic flavouring for cooked dishes. However in the past it was considered an inferior type of garlic - fit only for bears to eat. This is probably how the scientific name contains reference to the Latin for 'bear' , ursus.