Wild garlic

Garlicky wild herb, in season March to May. Use the leaves raw in pesto, butter or salad. Careful: poisonous lily of the valley and autumn crocus look similar.

What is wild garlic? Europe’s green woodland gold

As soon as the last frost lifts in the cold German and European spring, it bursts up across woodland floors, often in dark, damp leaf litter: wild garlic (Allium ursinum). Unlike its cultivated cousin, ordinary garlic, wild garlic grows freely as a thick green carpet of leaves under broadleaf trees. Old Celtic tales say that bears, after their long winter hibernation, instinctively ate this sharp, garlicky plant to clear out their bodies after the winter.

The sulphur profile: alliin and adenosine

These are no harmless little leaves. Pick one, rub it between your fingers and a sharp, penetrating garlic smell hits your nose. That smell comes from its sulphur compounds:

• Alliin (the sulphur base): Wild garlic contains high concentrations of alliin. As soon as the leaves are cut or chewed, the enzyme alliinase converts it into allicin – the main active compound, responsible for the sharp taste and the one researchers study most.
• Iron & vitamin C: Plenty of fresh vitamin C plus iron – a useful pairing, because vitamin C improves the absorption of iron from plant foods.

What studies look at: heavy metals and blood vessels

The heavy metal question

Wild garlic is often recommended for ‘clearing heavy metals’ out of the body. Its volatile sulphur compounds (thiosulfinates) are being studied for how they affect liver enzymes involved in processing foreign substances (phase 1 and phase 2). There is no good evidence that eating wild garlic removes heavy metals from your body.

Blood vessels and platelets

Like ordinary garlic, wild garlic contains sulphur compounds and fairly high amounts of adenosine, which researchers have studied for their effects on blood vessels. In lab experiments, they relaxed the smooth muscle of blood vessels (vasodilation) and made platelets less likely to clump together. These are lab results – not proof that wild garlic works like aspirin or a beta-blocker.

Important: the real danger when foraging

Never pick green leaves blindly in the woods! Wild garlic leaves look dangerously similar to those of highly poisonous **lily of the valley** and toxic **autumn crocus**. The simplest test when foraging: always rub a leaf firmly between your palms. It *must* smell strongly of garlic. If it doesn’t, wash your hands and throw it away! Once you’ve safely got genuine wild garlic, don’t heat it: allicin breaks down over a high heat. Instead, blitz the leaves with pine nuts, coarse salt and good olive oil into a thick, bright green, wonderfully punchy pesto.