A couple of weeks ago, I discovered something new that I hadn't heard of before. For ages, I just assumed that the plant in the picture on the left were white bluebells. They appeared each year around the same time, so that's just what I thought they were. It was only when a friend mentioned this 'three cornered leek' and told me that it grew in abundance in her garden, that I realised what I had been looking at in the hedgerows was that.
It's also known as 'three cornered garlic' or 'snowbell' and it is a member of the allium family. It is an evasive species from the Mediterranean and is illegal to plant it in the wild. It does grow like wildfire and can be found in the hedgerows, verges and in flower borders. It has long thin leaves and the flowers are white with a green stripe down each petal. If you break the leaf and crush it, it does have the unmistakeable scent of garlic or leek - hence the name. All of the plant is edible and can be used in place of spring onion or the leaves and flowers can sprinkled on salads. The leaves can be used in stews or blended to make a tasty pesto.
As it is from the Allium family, medically this is good for treating high blood pressure and high cholesterol - bur please speak to a medical practitioner first!
I couldn't find any magical properties for Three Cornered Leek/Garlic itself, but as it is a member of the Allium family, you could work with it for the same as garlic, onion or leek.
Leek Magical Properties:
love, protection, exorcism. Carry leeks as a protective amulet. Dried, it can be added to spell pouches. Burning dried leeks might be a bit whiffy!
Garlic Magical Properties:
protection, healing, lust, anti theft. Garlic can be worn to protect you against illness and eaten to give you courage. Hang garlic over your doorway as protection. Apparently, garlic when eaten is a 'lust-inducer' - I can only think that the other person would have to eat it too!
Sources:
Rachel Patterson - A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Herbs and Plants
Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.