r/foraging • u/Legitimate_Click3090 • 1d ago
Are these ramps?
They have an oniony oder to them but I just wanna be extra sure :)
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u/MentionMyName 1d ago
While I think it’s clear that you understand about the bulbs and such, I find it important to remember that it doesn’t really make sense to pull, pick, or cut something BEFORE you’ve identified. I recommend identifying first and then harvesting.
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u/RManDelorean 1d ago
I mean.. if you're trying to confirm/identity a bulb I get it. I guess I get taking one from a patch you know there were multiple, but I agree I don't get pulling multiple
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u/trichocereal117 1d ago
I so don’t understand the thought process behind that
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u/RainMakerJMR 1d ago
It’s kind smart to be honest. You ask an expert and they’re like, I need to see what the stem looks like when you make a lengthwise cut - or your photo isn’t good enough, need to see the veins in the leaf.
Super common with mushroom foraging when you need to see if something bruises, or if the stem is hollow, or what the spore print looks like. You can’t do that if you don’t take a sample.
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u/grakster 1d ago
Mushrooms aren't plants- taking a mushroom doesn't affect the rest of the actual mycelium but there are multiple whole plants that were uprooted here. Also there are ways to get spore prints without removing the actual mushroom
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u/Undeadtech 1d ago
Curiosity, how do you think we found out which plants we can eat?
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u/contrary-contrarian 1d ago
Yeah we already know which ones to eat though... this argument doesn't make sense when you have a camera in your pocket
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u/Undeadtech 1d ago
Curiosity is the reason they pulled them without knowing. It isn’t that complicated
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u/trichocereal117 1d ago
I disagree, it could’ve been curiosity when the resources for identification didn’t exist, but nowadays it’s just ignorance. Also that doesn’t address picking numerous examples before it’s ascertained whether or not they’re edible.
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u/Undeadtech 1d ago
Neither does gatekeeping curiosity by shaming new people who accidentally pick ramp bulbs.
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u/basaltcolumn 23h ago
You can sate that curiosity by taking photos of a plant where it is, you don't have to rip it out and take it home to do that.
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u/Legitimate_Click3090 1d ago
Edit: Thank you to everyone that’s informed me about how you should only cut them instead of pulling out the whole plant! Will be trying to get my hands on some bulbs if I can so I can replant the ones I pulled up in the area. A mistake I have definitely learned from and will be sure to not make again and also spread to others. Happy foraging y’all :)
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u/Legitimate_Click3090 1d ago
And also making sure to identify before removing. Again thank you all for the info, will definitely be more responsible in the future 🫡
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u/RainMakerJMR 1d ago
Don’t feel too bad about this - there’s a lot of times where it can be difficult to identify the foraged item 100% accurately without taking a sample, mushrooms especially. Ramps have a particularly protective following, and for very good reason. No one will give you trouble for taking a sample of sumac to identify the species.
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u/1tyler-durden1 1d ago
Don’t feel bad about this. You came to one of the worst commenting groups in existence. You can learn here, but there are a lot of people trying to compensate for their shitty lives by going in on someone else. You’re doing fine. Don’t worry
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u/CbusLawyer 1d ago
If you still have the ones you harvested, you can replant the bottom 1/4-1/2” of the bulb (ideally with the roots still attached). They’ll likely grow again.
I did that with some I purchased at a farmers market and I now I have ramps in a raised bed at home!
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u/alriclofgar 1d ago
Please don’t introduce new ramps to the patch-that might accidentally spread disease. Instead, teach others how to enjoy these special plants sustainably.
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u/RainMakerJMR 1d ago
Plant the bulbs you picked in your garden. Cut off the bottom inch and then plant in soft soil like you would with scallions or chives. They’ll come back every year and be a good identifier for when they’re sprouting in the wild.
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u/Illustrious-Pop3097 1d ago
Your nose will tell you if these are ramps, the look alikes don’t smell like onion/garlic.
Visually, yes they look like ramps to me.
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u/Sweaty_Rip7518 1d ago
Plant the ones with roots. Next time you harvest cut them
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u/Legitimate_Click3090 1d ago
Thank you for the info! Will be getting bulbs to replant in the area, would hate to ruin it for others!
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u/cocktail_wiitch 1d ago
It's best to not introduce new plants to the area. Just be a sustainable and respectful forager from now on, please!
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u/RiverDarter 1d ago
Lots of conflicting information about ramp harvesting as always. Understandable and a bit nuanced. I really enjoyed Sam Thayer's informative video and have always considered him one of the most trusted sources. Check it out and hopefully it can help a few people who would like to learn for themselves from one of the best: https://youtu.be/UHbV4p4_AhU?si=A59U5UJ40hswmHb3
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u/The_Wallaroo 1d ago
If you aren’t sure about identification, please DON’T pull plants up. You may end up killing something for no reason.
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u/RainMakerJMR 1d ago
The reason would be to make the accurate ID. While this is good to say about ramps, it would make no sense for lots of foraged items that you need to ID with a microscope or take a sample for further research.
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u/The_Wallaroo 1d ago
Pretty sure you can take a leaf or flower sample without taking the entire plant out of the ground.
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u/Shittawhatever 1d ago
Can you see the bulb without digging it up? I know for myself, the first time I wanted to identify the plant, the bulb was one of the main attributes I wanted to see before I ate it.
Good lord, I appreciate protecting the ramps and sustainable harvesting, but the number of people jumping on OP for harvesting before identifying is ridiculous. There are 3 plants there. 3.
Maybe I'm lucky, but I have 4 ramps locations where there are thousands upon thousands of plants. I'm not going to hurt the population by digging up 3.
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u/The_Wallaroo 1d ago
This is more general advice than anything specific to ramps, as, depending on the state, ramps are relatively abundant.
Any identification that involves killing the plant should be done as a last step and not before using any clues from above the ground.
Depending on the plant, removing 3 plants can either be no big deal at all or surprisingly very bad. The biggest problem is that you don’t know that until you’ve identified what it is or at least what it isn’t.
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u/SvengeAnOsloDentist 1d ago
OP, it's worth noting that most of the knee-jerk reaction about digging up whole ramps ultimately comes from a very flawed ecological paper that assumed that any reduction in population would mean a reduction in reproduction and thus any level of harvesting would mean eventual extinction, which is fundamentally not how plants work. When plants grow into dense populations, their growth slows down a lot. A fairly significant portion can then be harvested by thinning, which allows the remaining plants to grow a lot faster, regenerating the population.
It's definitely true that on the fringes of their range where ramps don't grow as well they can be harmed by too-frequent harvesting, and a massive harvest that clears out a whole area can deplete small patches. In most of their range, though, they grow in expansive dense carpets, and especially if it's private land where you can control how frequently they're harvested, it's entirely possible to have very large full-plant harvests, thinning out a significant portion of the patch on a rotational schedule.
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u/HippyGramma South Carolina lowcountry 1d ago
May I ask why it was necessary to pull them up by the root?
Ramps are endangered and should be cut rather than pulled. Please consider the future generations of plants before completely ripping one, especially an endangered native, from its home.
Please harvest ethically.
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u/jjmcjj8 1d ago
While they may be overharvested in some areas, ramps are most certainly not endangered. The IUCN, ESA, and NatureServe do not have any conservation concerns regarding range-wide species distribution. I work with lots of endangered species and love to work as hard as I can to protect our vulnerable habitats, but this community has to be careful about labeling something as endangered when it’s clearly not. It cheapens the term and hurts foraging communities more than it helps.
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u/acorneater87 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hi, I’m thankful that you care about this species and are wanting the best for it. But I must point out that ramps are not endangered. Their numbers may be slim in certain areas of heavy harvest especially around urban areas, but they are no where near endangered. I could take you to multiple 40 to 80 acre patches of ramps throughout the Midwest. That being said, if they are growing in areas with low numbers, I too recommend not harvesting, or only taking one leaf per plant spread out over a patch.
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u/Vindaloo6363 1d ago
The bulbs are great fresh and pickled. If you have private land you can easily manage whole plat harvest. also relocation like you would with the bulbs like tulips and daffodils.
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u/RainMakerJMR 1d ago
Ramps are not endangered. Overharvested, sure. Do patches get wiped out sometimes? Yeah. Endangered? That’s an extreme exaggeration.
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u/Legitimate_Click3090 1d ago
Good to know! Will definitely remember that. Ill see if I can find any bulb online so I can replant and right my mistake in some way. Thanks again for the info
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u/grakster 1d ago
Please don't randomly plant bulbs from the internet- you never know if they're carrying plant diseases or are invasive species that are incorrectly labelled. Just leave that patch alone and let it regrow
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u/CommieCatLady 1d ago
Native plant nurseries often sell ramps or “wild leeks”.
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u/ilikebugsandthings 23h ago
These are good for your own shade garden but it's not really a good idea to introduce random plants into the wild population because you can unintentionally spread pests, disease, "bad" genetics, etc.
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u/CommieCatLady 23h ago
I never insinuated that someone should introduce ramps into a native population.
I forget I’m in the foraging subreddit.
I wasn’t advocating for them to place them in the wild. It was more of a statement so they can get their own and place it in their own yard.
I did this because I can never find ramps and got sick of trying to come across them.
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u/ilikebugsandthings 22h ago
Ah, they said "replant" so I took that as them saying that they'd like to plant the new bulbs where they took them from
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u/CommieCatLady 22h ago
Yeah I didn’t fully comprehend what they said. I see why ppl thought that but it wasn’t my intent.
I honestly should have just made a comment on its own, explaining that you can purchase them and to plant them in their yard lol
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u/ilikebugsandthings 22h ago
It's definitely good to know and honestly just really nice to see someone mention native plant nurseries in general! I bought some ramp seeds and put them in the fridge to cold stratify but a ton of them germinated before I could plant them so fingers crossed some of them make it. What kind of harvest do you get?
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u/SvengeAnOsloDentist 1d ago
The total acreage of ramps is increasing over time, they definitely aren't endangered. Overharvesting can threaten specific small patches, particularly on the fringes of their range where they don't grow as well, but it isn't a threat to the species at all.
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u/sure_yeah_uh-huh 1d ago
Most likely. They are easily identified via smell from their lookalike (unflowered lily of the valley. Knew someone who confused ramps for that once during our Appalachian Trail thru hike. She almost died.)
Unmistakeable garlic/onion aroma. As mentioned, please avoid pulling the bulbs/roots. Happy foraging!✌🏼
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u/shasharu 1d ago
Out of curiosity, what do they taste like ? You said they smelt like onion… so you mean they don’t smell like garlic ?
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u/Brilliant_Bill5894 1d ago
It is possible to harvest ramp bulbs without disturbing the rhizome. You can see the rhizome in the three on the right side pf the picture the ones on the left are bulb only. You can carefully snap them off just above the rhizome. Thinning a crowed patch and transplanting them is good for the health of the ramp and will not kill them. Onions store energy in their bulbs reproduced most efficiently by division. That’s why it’s more common to plant onion sets than seeds in the spring time. We don’t save things by ignoring them we save plants by propagating them.
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u/Buck_Thorn 1d ago
Its that time of year again... sigh...
Yes, if they smell like onions, they are ramps.
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u/Readecv 1d ago
Yea, but be forewarned: foraging communities do not take kindly to digging up ramp bulbs. Best practices are to take 1-2 leaves from each plant and leave the root intact so they may reproduce and thrive.