Leek
Parts Usually Used
Bulb, lower stem
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Leek is an annual, or sometimes perennial, plant; its linear leaves dilate at the bottom into leaf sheaths that surround the stem. The round stem grows from a slightly bulging bulb and is topped by a globular, umbellate cluster of white to light red flowers, with some small bulbs growing among the blossoms. Flowering time is June and July. Another variety: Wild leek or Ramp (A.
tricoccum) is strongly onion or leek scented; is similar to cultivated leek. Cherokees ate the leaves for colds, croup, and as a spring tonic. Warm juice of leaves and bulbs used for earaches. Similar to garlic in medicinal uses but less potent. Do not confuse Ramp with the poisonous Lily-of-the-Valley that it resembles.
Where Found
Usually grown by cultivation. Native to the moist woodlands of eastern-to-midwestern North America.
Medicinal Properties
Diuretic, stimulant
Legends, Myths and Stories
The word leek comes from the Anglo-Saxon name for the plant, leac. The leek, like its relatives the onion and garlic, has been known as a food plant for thousands of years. Over 1,200 years before Christ, the Israelites in the Sinai wilderness longed for the leeks, onions, garlic, meat and other foods they had known in Egypt (Numbers 11:4-6). The emperor Nero ate great quantities of leeks under the delusion that they improved his voice.
Beginning in antiquity, soldiers of many centuries believed that carrying a leek in battle would assure safety and victory. In the 6th century, St. David, the patron saint of Wales, directed the Welshmen to wear leeks in their caps to identify themselves in their successful battle against Saxon invaders. To commemorate the victory, the leek was made the national emblem of Wales.
Uses
Historical herbal traditions considered the leek to possess properties similar to garlic, though milder in nature. Herbalists utilized it as an appetite stimulant, an agent to address respiratory congestion, and a mild diuretic. Folk practices also involved applying crushed leek leaves externally to soothe insect stings. Additionally, traditional sources credited leeks with maintaining vascular elasticity and preventing premature aging, while recommending leeks and other Allium varieties, such as chives and garlic, for the expulsion of intestinal worms.
How Sold
In the supermarket produce section.
Warning
Do not confuse leek with the poisonous Lily-of-the-Valley that it resembles.
Bibliography
Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
copyright 1974. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974