Ecology A local delicacy of March and April is ramps, a relative of garlic and of onions. My neighbors and many other local mountaineers make pilgrimages into nearby forests in search of the pungent bulbs and leaves.
L ike the commercial varieties of garlic and onions, the native plant, ramps, is a lily.
Lilies have flowers formed almost always from either 3 or 6 petals, grow from a large underground bulb, and the leaves have veins that run in parallel, orderly rows. R amps and their relatives have been used medicinally to treat a host of ailments, and one of these old-time remedies has crossed over into the world of modern medicine. One of the most common uses of both garlic and ramps was to expel internal worms, and a concentrated form is now produced commercially. It's called allicin, which comes from the scientific name Allium, the group name for all onions, garlic, and ramps. R amps are most easily identified by their leaves.