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Wild garlic is a medium-sized bulbous perennial with a distinctive garlic smell.
Leaves: long, pointed and oval in shape with untoothed edges. They grow from the plant base and the bulb and have a strong garlic scent.
Flowers: small, white, with six petals on a thin stalk. Around 25 flowers form each rounded flower cluster which is held high on a single, leafless stalk.
Wild garlic is an ancient-woodland-indicator plant. If you spot it while you're out exploring, it could be a sign you're standing in a rare and special habitat.
Wild garlic flowers early in spring, so is an important early bloom for the bees and other insects which pollinate them. The bulbs are also a source of food . Wild garlic is one of a number of plant species whose presence indicates that a wood is ancient. It has traditionally been used in medicine, the bulb being one of the key ingredients in tonics for rheumatic problems and high cholesterol.
It is also a popular foraged ingredient. Its leaves can be eaten raw in salads, or blanched and used in place of spinach, or made into a delicious soup and pesto. They have a mild garlic flavour and are at their best before the flowers appear. The flowers are also edible and can be added raw to salads.