Allium babingtonii 

'Babingtons Leek'

[Syn. Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii]

Alliaceae: a rare bulbous herbaceous perennial to 2m, with a strong onion or garlic scent.  Found in the clefts of rocks and sandy places near the coast. The flowers are pale purple, tightly-packed in spherical umbels, blooming from July-August. It produces bulbils on its flower heads. The leaves are linear, strap-shaped or cylindrical basal. Native to Cornwall, the Scillies and South Wales.

USES:

This the ancestor of A. porrum, the leek. The small bulbs can vary considerably in size from 2-6cm, they have a pleasant mild garlic flavour. The leaves are used raw or cooked. The young leaves are pleasant raw, older leaves quickly become fibrous and are best cooked. They have a nice leek flavour. The plants come into new growth in early winter and the leaves are often available from January. The flowers are eaten raw, they have a pleasant mild garlic flavour, but with a rather dry texture. This species produces mainly bulbils and very few flowers. The bulbils have a mild garlic flavour and make a nice flavouring in salads and cooked foods. Although produced abundantly, they are quite fiddly to use because they are small. They can also be pickled.

This species has the same medicinal virtues as garlic, but in a much milder and less effective form. The bulb is said to have anthelmintic, antiasthmatic, anticholesterolemic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, and vasodilator properties. The crushed bulb may be applied as a poultice to ease the pain of bites, and stings.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Bulbils - plant out as soon as they are ripe in late summer. The bulbils can be planted direct into their permanent positions, though you get better results if you pot them up and plant them out the following spring.

Prefers a sunny position in a light well-drained soil. The bulbs should be planted deeply. Closely allied to the wild leek, A. ampeloprasum, differing mainly in its having more bulbils and fewer flowers in the flowering head.

HARVESTED: 2022*

 
10 BULBILS