Monday 13 May 2013

foraging few flowered leek

I've blogged about few flowered leek before. This is a rather distinctive looking plant as seen from the photo below,


though from a distance it can be confused with wild garlic (which you can see in this post - that year wild garlic had flowered mid April, this year it's barely yet starting to flower!).

I've noticed few flowered leek much more over the last few years and realised it wasn't a native plant. But it was only on reading this article from Plantlife that I realised it is classed as an invasive plant, and is gradually taking over from the wild garlic, bluebells and other flowers of the woodland floor.

But you can be part of the solution! Few flowered leek (and its near cousin three cornered leek) are edible and because they're invasive plants you can pull up the whole plant! (But if you're picking wild garlic just pick the leaves, wild garlic is native to our woodlands and it's illegal to uproot it!). There's a good video here about how to recognise few flowered leek (Thanks to Howard for sharing this link on Facebook).

You can chop up either of these invasive leeks and use in potato salad or to make pesto. 

Of course, as when foraging for any plants, choose areas that aren't used by dogs.



For Nature Notes


As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.

11 comments:

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Hmmm...I love leeks, never even thought about them growing wild...or garlic either for that matter. Dumb of me...I guess everything started out as a wild plant.

eileeninmd said...

I think it is cool that there is a use for a invasive plant. Great post!

RG said...

I don't think we have that here - but I hope to take a class in native and invasive plant identification in early June. Then I'll see for sure ...

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I have never seen a Leek before...or if I have I didn't know it was one. I love the rich green-ness.

EG CameraGirl said...

How nice you can EAT this invasive plant. That might keep it from spreading too fast.

Karen said...

So many "weeds' are pretty. This one is no exception!

Rambling Woods said...

It is so important to know what invasives there are so we can grab them if we can.... Great post... Michelle

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

Wonderful photo and informative post!

Madeleine Begun Kane

Laura said...

I thank you too for this information... and the photo is quite lovely too.

Helen Scholes said...

It is a nightmare plant - when you pull it up you loosen the seeds or bulbils on the roots and leave them in the soil and the flowers also drop little seeds or tiny bulbs as soon as they are touched. I have spent many hours trying to remove it from one of my flower beds but you have to carefully take the soil from around the roots as well and I don't think it wise to put it in the compost.

Crafty Green Poet said...

HI Helen, I hadn't realised it was such a nightmare, thanks