Babington Leeks
How To ID Me And What I’m Good For?
My ID Features:
In Situ
Leaves
Scapes
Flowers
Wild Leeks (Babington Leeks)
Latin Name - Allium ampeloprasum (var. babingtonii).
Family - Amaryllidaceae.
Season - Spring.
Edible bits - Whole plant.
Habitat - Sandy and stony places close to the sea.
Possible Confusion - Potentially another wild leek [Allium ampeloprasum var. bulbiferum], although we believe this variety to be mostly inhabiting the channel islands.
Description - A delicious native alternative to shop bought leeks with a much punchier flavour. The leaves first appear in spring and are best left until matured. All parts of the plants are considered edible, it is best to harvest before they go in to flower.
Interestingly it has been cultivated over many centuries to create 5 different vegetables: leeks, elephant garlic, pearl onion, kurrat and Persian leek.
Physical Characteristics - Allium ampeloprasum is a robust biennial.
The long green leaves of Wild Leek are quite similar to those of cultivated leeks. They are however, much more open and dainty. When cut or bruised they smell strongly of onions and garlic. It’s honestly a much stronger smell than that of wild garlic (Ramsons).
The flower bulbs, known as scapes, grow to typically 50cm. They can grow to well over a metre in height! Each scape carries an umbel of typically 100, but, occasionally up to 500 deeply-cupped flowers.
The individual flowers are up to 6mm in diameter with white, pink or reddish tepals, the colour becoming more intense as the flowers mature.
Medicinal Qualities - None known.
Harvesting Sustainability - This isn’t a massively abundant plant in the UK. Mostly the southern coast of England & parts of Ireland. It would be best to only take a small amount each year. The plant spreads by bulbs as well as seeds. Personally we wouldn’t harvest the scapes (flowers) to aid in reproduction.
Important note - It is worth noting that Babington leek is growing close to the ground. So make sure you pick away from dog walkers or other contaminants!
Never munch on a hunch! Volf takes no responsibility for anything consumed.