Beware of poisonous wild garlic lookalikes
15.5.2023
Translation: machine translated
Green, savoury and perfect for your pesto: wild garlic. Unfortunately, however, this tasty herb looks very similar to its poisonous counterparts. Find out how to tell the plants apart in this article.
You have probably heard of cases of poisoning in connection with wild garlic. This is because the tasty wild vegetable has some dangerous doppelgangers. Every now and then, plant collectors fall for them.
A couple from Nürberg have now had to painfully experience this for themselves after doing their weekly shop. They wanted to buy wild garlic in a supermarket and were given arum instead. This looks so similar to wild garlic that even professional plant pickers must have mistaken it and the herb ended up on the supermarket shelves by mistake. The couple burnt their oesophagi when they unsuspectingly ate the arum. According to nn.de, those responsible announced that they would train their staff better to prevent such incidents in future.
Source: Arum/Pixabay
In addition to arum, wild garlic is often confused with lily of the valley and autumn crocus. The leaves of both plants are similar to those of wild garlic - but are not edible. If you accidentally reach for these poisonous plants, there is sometimes a danger to life: discomfort, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin irritation, but also paralysis, shock and cardiovascular failure can occur.
Source: Colchicum Automnale/Pixabay
Source: Jeffrey Hamilton/Unsplash
Wild garlic or no wild garlic, that is the question
Caution is advised, especially when picking wild garlic yourself. If you don't want to miss out on wild vegetables but your own last meal, you can do the following:
- Rub the leaves: The characteristic garlic odour gives wild garlic away.
- Check the underside of the leaves: The underside of wild garlic leaves is matt, while the underside of lily of the valley and autumn crocus leaves is shiny.
- Check the leaf stalks: In wild garlic, they are exposed and grow individually, whereas in lily of the valley, several leaves curl together around the stem. Autumn crocuses grow out of the ground without a visible stem.
- Check the location: Wild garlic often covers large areas and feels particularly at home in shady, nutrient-rich woodland. However, lily of the valley or autumn crocus can also get lost here from time to time.
Picked correctly and prepared well, wild vegetables can add a wonderful flavour to your cooking. Our recipe book will tell you exactly how:
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