Wild Field Garlic / Onion Grass (Allium vineale)

Family: Amaryllidaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

A perennial bulbous wild allium forming dense emerald-green clusters of hollow, cylindrical, chive-like leaves in early spring, later producing aerial bulbils and tiny underground cloves with an unmistakable pungent garlic fragrance.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves, Roots/Tubers, Flowers, Shoots

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Sharp, spicy, pungent garlic and sweet onion punch; very bold and aromatic — Hollow green leaves snipped fresh like wild chives for seasoning potatoes, eggs, and soups; Underground bulb clusters washed, peeled, and minced as wild garlic cloves in sautés and pestos; Aerial summer bulbils pickled in apple cider vinegar for wild pungent caper substitutes; Dehydrated and ground into potent aromatic wild garlic-herb salt

Habitat & North American Range

Meadows, lawns, disturbed roadsides, pastures, riverbanks, and old cultivated fields. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9)