HEBERLING LAB

A flower with no leaves?
 
This leafless specimen was collected in July 1925 in Rock Run, Forbes State Forest in Rector, Pennsylvania.  This site is not far from what would only a few decades later became Powdermill Nature Reserve, the field station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 
 
This specimen was collected by Otto Jennings, an influential botanist and curator at Carnegie Museum.  Jennings had many roles during his 60 years at the museum (1904 until his death in 1964), including Director of Education and even Director of the museum.  He was also a university professor at the University of Pittsburgh, serving as the Head of the Department of Botany and later, the Head of the newly formed Department of Biological Sciences in 1935.  On top of that, Jennings somehow was a prolific plant collector, among the top contributors to the Carnegie Museum Herbarium with nearly 35,000 specimens and more distributed in collections across the world.
 
So, where’d the leaves go on this specimen? No, it isn’t parasitic. Wild leeks (also called ramps), Allium tricoccum, has a unique phenology, or timing, of leaf out and flowering. The species emerges very early in the spring, among the earliest in our woods. In this way, the species is a typical “spring ephemeral.” The long leaves soak up the sun before being shaded out by tree canopies a month or two later.  At that point, the leaves dies back.  However, unlike other spring ephemerals, wild leek does not flower in the spring.  Instead, months later, in July, the leafless plants send up a solitary flowering stalk.  This is quite unusual – a flower coming out of the ground in the middle of the woods, with no signs of leaves.
 
Wild leeks or ramps are in the onion family (Amaryllidaceae, formerly Alliaceae), forming bulbs with a distinctive onion flavor and ball shaped flower heads typical in the onion family. Ramps are edible, with a long history of human use by native people and European settlers. Ramp festivals are common throughout Appalachia to this day. However, the species is prone to exploitation and overharvesting, so do not harvest without permission and following sustainable practices to not affect the population.
 
The species is often treated as having two varieties: var. tricoccum (wild leek) and var. burdickii (narrow leaved wild leek). It depends who you ask, but more studies are now more clearly showing that this species may in fact be multiple species based on very distinct phenology (timing of flowers) and leaf traits (color, width).  This case highlights the importance of herbarium specimens in documenting our flora and understanding the complexities of biological diversity.
 
Also note the small label added to this particular specimen recording this specimen was used in the taxonomic treatment of the species in the Flora of North America, identified by T.D. Jacobsen who co-authored the treatment. Dr. Jacobsen is the current director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at nearby Carnegie Mellon University.
 
Keep an eye out for those leafless flower stalks in the woods!
 
Find this ramps specimen and 174 more in the Carnegie Museum Herbarium here: https://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=328&taxa=Allium+tricoccum&usethes=1&taxontype=2

Left: The leaves of wild leeks carpeting the forest floor in early spring.
Right: The solitary flower stalks poking through other vegetation in mid-summer.

Collected on April 7, 1945, this specimen was found by Otto Jennings near route 910, Bakerstown (Richland Township), PA. Jennings was an extremely influential botanist, focusing on nearly all aspects of plants in our region.  He made many contributions to the museum, serving as the Curator of Botany, Director of Education, and eventually Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.  He also was Professor of Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, having advised many students.  His legacy remains to this day for his well-known influence on the museum, botany, conservation, and environmental education.
 
Allium tricoccum, also known as wild leeks or “ramps,” is spring ephemeral species found in rich forests across eastern North America.  Known for its pungent garlic/onion flavor, people throughout Appalachia have long eaten this plant to welcome the arrival of spring.  Ramps were traditionally dug up for food by Appalachian peoples during the Zodiac sign Aries (March-April), symbolized by a ram.  The plant was therefore called “ram’s son,” which through time has been shortened to simply “ramps.”
 
Ramps festivals exist to this day and are increasingly popular at upscale restaurants.  However, over-collecting can lead to devastating population declines of the species, and digging up this plant is banned or restricted in some areas.

Ramps and other forest understory wildflowers abound in early spring, central New York.