Tim, They look exactly like someone combined Lilly of the Valley and scallions and ramps almost always seemed to prefer an eastern or northern position in the wooded areas of West Virginia that I was taken foraging. Very easy to spot with the leaves unfurled. As I recall though a milder flavor was obtained when they were about to unfurl their leaves. In those days there were patches of them scattered all through the woods. They would pop up in small bunches with just a spade under and around them. On Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 5:46 AM Tim Eck via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > I was intrigued to find a small colony of ramps on my property several > years ago. Prior to that, I hadn't realized their precarious little niche > in the local woods: > For me, they grow on a north-facing hardwood slope (probably to prevent > freeze-thaw damage in winter) that weeps a little ground-water, but doesn't > amount to a flow. They put up a leaf or two, slightly resembling a lily of > the valley but narrower and fleshier for a few short weeks in the spring > when the ground has thawed and before the trees leaf out and block the > light. Then they put up a naked bloom stalk sometime later in the summer > and then I don't see them for another year. > I showed a friend who has beehives on my property and he was happy to > accept a single leaf to take home and season some steaks. I hadn't > 'harvested' any before that because the small colony seemed so precarious > in its existence. > I will try to send an image or two later. > Tim > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>