What on Earth are ramps?

That was my question as I read Nance Klehm's latest "Weedeater" column over there at Arthur.

I can now report that ramp, a.k.a. wild leek, is classified as Allium tricoccum, a member of the onion genus. Ramp is reportedly more pungent than either onions or garlic.

A. tricoccum is native to eastern North America. As one of the first leafy plants to emerge after winter, it has been used by indigenous people to spice up the winter diet, as well as to treat coughs and colds. People in Appalachia and other areas of the southeastern U.S. use ramp as a spring tonic and blood cleanser. Residents of that region also put on a number of festivals related to the ramp harvest.

Ramp contains a moderate amount of vitamin C, as well as other compounds that are beneficial for treating hypertension, high cholesterol and perhaps cancer. Ramp hadn't received much culinary attention beyond its hill and mountain locales, but recently it began to attract the attention of celebrichefs. I read that it's been a featured ingredient in several episodes of Iron Chef America.

Because of increased demand, wild stocks of ramp have been threatened. Commercial cultivation (and homegrowing, of course) will hopefully prevent overharvesting of the plant.

Ramp bears a more than a passing resemblance to Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis). For that reason, foragers need to be sure they're collecting the right plant because Lily of the Valley is quite poisonous.

Ramps can be found in deciduous forests, where it grows in cool, shaded areas that are rich in organic matter (leaf and wood cover). Ramp will emerge in late March through mid-April, lose its leaves by May, and it will produce flowers in early June. In cultivation, ramp seems to need 30%-50% shade in order to thrive.