{"id":34791,"date":"2022-01-17T10:37:44","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T10:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/?p=34791"},"modified":"2022-01-17T10:37:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T10:37:44","slug":"few-flowered-leek-allium-paradoxum-identification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/01\/17\/few-flowered-leek-allium-paradoxum-identification\/","title":{"rendered":"Few-Flowered Leek (Allium paradoxum) Identification"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Few-Flowered Leek \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Edible<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-34791 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/01\/17\/few-flowered-leek-allium-paradoxum-identification\/olympus-digital-camera-11\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek.-cluster-in-flower-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-34799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek.-cluster-in-flower-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek.-cluster-in-flower-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek.-cluster-in-flower.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-34799'>\n\t\t\t\tKrzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/01\/17\/few-flowered-leek-allium-paradoxum-identification\/few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-34795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-34795'>\n\t\t\t\tAllium paradoxum\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/01\/17\/few-flowered-leek-allium-paradoxum-identification\/few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-34796\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-34796'>\n\t\t\t\tAnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/01\/17\/few-flowered-leek-allium-paradoxum-identification\/few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-34797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-34797'>\n\t\t\t\tKatrin Schneider, korina.info \u2013 CC-BY-SA-4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/01\/17\/few-flowered-leek-allium-paradoxum-identification\/few-flowered-leek-picked-whole\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole-300x169.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-34798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-34798'>\n\t\t\t\tKatrin Schneider, korina.info \u2013 CC-BY-SA-4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h2><strong>Identification Guide for Few-Flowered Leek <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A non-native, invasive member of the Allium family. Do your bit for nature and eat it \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Common Names<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Few-Flowered Leek, Few-Flowered Garlic.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Botanical Name<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Allium paradoxum<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Scientific Classification<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kingdom<\/strong> \u2013 Plantae<\/p>\n<p><strong>Order<\/strong> \u2013 Asparagales<\/p>\n<p><strong>Family<\/strong> \u2013 Amaryllidaceae<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Physical Characteristics for Few-Flowered Leek<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Stems<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The flower stem is up to 50cm long and has a triangular-shaped cross-section.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Leaves<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bright green the leaves are long (up to 40cm) and thin.<\/p>\n<p>On the top of the leaf are a long furrow running down the length and a ridge on the underside.<\/p>\n<p>When crushed they smell of garlic.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34795\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34795\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34795\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-leaves-on-mass.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34795\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allium paradoxum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Flowers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The plant produces just a few tiny, white flowers, hence the common name.<\/p>\n<p>The flowers are quickly replaced by clusters of small bulbils.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34796\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34796\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34796\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-shot-of-the-flowers-and-bulbils.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34796\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">AnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Roots<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The tuber is small and looks very much like a spring onion root.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34798\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34798\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34798\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-picked-whole.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34798\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katrin Schneider, korina.info \u2013 CC-BY-SA-4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 &lt;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Habitat<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Native to parts of Asia, it is considered an invasive plant in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>It is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and as such, it is illegal to plant in the wild but it\u2019s commonly found in damp environments such as river banks, damp woods and hedgerows.<\/p>\n<p>From our experience, we find this one much more often in Scotland.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Known Hazards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>None Known.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Could be Confused with&#8230;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Other wild Alliums for example the <a href=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/03\/04\/identify-three-cornered-leek\/\">Three-Cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum)<\/a> these are also edible.<\/p>\n<p>They could be confused with other spring-flowering plants such as Bluebells or Daffodils but these all lack the oniony aroma when the leaves are crushed.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Edible Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Use it in place of spring onions, it can be eaten raw or cooked but a lot of the pungent taste comes from essential oils and these are destroyed when cooked, so I tend to chuck it in at the last minute.<\/p>\n<p>The bulbils\/fruit has been used for making something quite incredible called, garlic caviar, where you salt and pickle them to serve as a garlicy salty pop in replacement of caviar.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Notes on Herbal Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Like many members of the Allium family the plant contains organosulfur compounds, which research suggests may be beneficial for lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.<\/p>\n<p>They may also be helpful in to preventing chronic conditions including cancer and cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Extra notes from the Foragers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Be wary of how invasive this species is, it crowds out some of our native species.<\/p>\n<p>The bulbil contain the seeds so if you are using them be careful how you dispose of them, don\u2019t compost them for example.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34797\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34797\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34797\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Few-flowered-leek-two-plants-growing-side-by-side.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34797\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katrin Schneider, korina.info \u2013 CC-BY-SA-4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 &lt;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Few-Flowered Leek \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Edible Identification Guide for Few-Flowered Leek A non-native, invasive member of the Allium family. Do your bit for nature and eat it \ud83d\ude42 Common Names Few-Flowered Leek, Few-Flowered Garlic. Botanical Name Allium paradoxum Scientific Classification Kingdom \u2013 Plantae Order \u2013 Asparagales Family \u2013&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":34799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,86],"tags":[898,896,895,152,894,104,238],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34791"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34890,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34791\/revisions\/34890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}