Ramps are a spring ephemeral species in the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae) that is native to rich, moist, deciduous forests and bottoms of eastern North America, from Quebec to Georgia and west to Minnesota. In NC they are native to the mountains. Ramps are one of the earliest edible plants to emerge from the ground in the spring and have a distinct strong garlic/onion fragrance distinguishing it from the poisonous look-a-likes Lily of the valley or false hellebores. They are best grown in shady areas in moist soil high in organic matter as decomposed leaf litter. They do well under deciduous trees where they can get some sun until the trees leaf out. They tolerate full to partial shade and medium-wet to medium-dry soil. Plant bulbs about 3 inches deep. 2-3 tulip-shaped leaves grow from a conical bulb and unfurl in early spring. Just as the leaves begin to die back a cluster of many small white flowers appear on a leafless stem. Each flower produces a single black seed that may take 2 years to germinate. The plant also spreads by bulblet formation. This plant is celebrated at many annual spring ramps festivals throughout the mountains of the eastern U.S. and other areas. Its taste and aroma are very pungent and it can be used sparingly. It can be grown in deciduous woodland gardens or just collected from the wild. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Bulb rot can occur in too wet soils. Bulb mites can occur. VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Edibles, Bulbs, and Houseplants," a plant identification course developed in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Cool Season Vegetable; Edible; Herbaceous Perennial; Native Plant; Poisonous
Life cycle
Bulb
Light
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Mountains
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Rosulate
Leaf shape
Elliptical
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
1, 2, or 3 broad green elliptical basal leaves 4"-12" long and 1"-3" wide.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Umbel
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Clusters of many small white flowers with 3 sepals and 3 slightly longer petals surrounding the 6 stamens with pale yellow anthers and a single white style. Individual flowers are 1/4 inch and clusters are 1-1.5 inches across.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Black
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Seed are round and black in color
Stem color
Green; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
Green stems are often reddish near the base
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America
Distribution
AL , CT , DC , DE , GA , IA , IL , IN , KY , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , NC , ND , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , RI , SD , TN , VA , VT , WI , WV
Wildlife value
Pollinators are attracted to the flowers
Attracts
Pollinators
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Leaves; Stems
Fruit type
Capsule
Edibility
Leaves, stems and bulbs have garlic onion flavor high in vitamin C. If harvesting in the wild, leave the bulbs and one leaf in the ground to promote sustainablity.
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Small Space; Woodland
Landscape theme
Edible Garden; Garden for the Blind; Native Garden; Shade Garden
Design feature
Mass Planting
Garden tags
#NC native #native edible #vegetable garden #malodorous #cool season vegetable #nectar plant early spring #shade garden #pollinator plant #NC Native Pollinator Plant #woodland #herbaceous perennial #edible