The round, purple heads of wild leeks are a familiar sight in early summer, standing out against the surrounding straw of drying grasses, but they grow not only in fields and olive groves but also along the coast, clinging to the rocks above the sea. They dry to form attractive flower heads in autumn.

Allium ampeloprasum is the wild forerunner of the cultivated leek ( A. ampeloprasum ssp. porrum) which is thought to have been the first vegetable to be cultivated. Leeks were popular with ancient Greeks and the favourite vegetable of the Roman Emperor Nero. The bulbs have a mild garlic flavour and the plants are sometimes referred to as sea garlic.