The consumption of wild garlic: A confusion can be dangerous

Content

• The consumption of wild garlic: A confusion can be dangerous
• Recognize the wild garlic to look and smell
• The difference between wild garlic and lily of the valley
• Herbstzeitlose and wild garlic in comparison
• The spotted arum
• Tips

Wild garlic and lily-of-the-valley are similar to one another

The consumption of wild garlic: A confusion can be dangerous

In spring, fresh wild garlic from the nearby forest or even from your own garden is an important seasonal spice in many European households. If you are uncertain about the exact difference between wild garlic and similar-looking plants, it can be dangerous.

Early harvesting wild garlic for use in the kitchen Next article Conserve wild garlic and preserve its flavor

Recognize the wild garlic to look and smell

The leaves and flowers of wild garlic reach a stature height of about 20 to 50 centimeters and grow from the snow melt in March out of an elongated onion in the ground out. The fresh green leaves are pointed at the ends and have a longitudinal grain. In May, the white flowers of the wild garlic grouped into round balls show up, so that in the forest often entire glades turn into a green-white wild garlic carpet. Relatively unequivocal, you can see the wild garlic as you crush leaf and rub between your fingers. Bear's garlic emits a noticeable smell of garlic. Risky confusion with toxic neighbors exist in the wild garlic in the form of:

The difference between wild garlic and lily of the valley

Visually, the leaves of lily of the valley and wild garlic differed only slightly. Accurate detection would be easier during the flowering of both plants in May, but wild garlic is usually harvested before the time of wild garlic bloom due to the then more aromatic taste. The likelihood of confusion can therefore only be minimized by the odor test of the leaves. If you rub several leaves one after the other to determine the type of plant, you should wash your hands well in between. Otherwise, you might still confuse both species if you notice the garlic odor of a previous sample of wild garlic as belonging to the current sample in a lily-of-the-valley sample.

Herbstzeitlose and wild garlic in comparison

Even the autumn-flowering leaves that sprout in the spring look deceptively similar to those of wild garlic and can sometimes grow close to each other. To distinguish the highly poisonous Herbstzeitlosen from tasty wild garlic in turn an odor sample of the grated leaves is necessary. While wild garlic smells strongly of garlic, the leaves of the autumn timeless are almost odorless. Since both plant species can also grow in mixed stocks, experienced wild garlic collectors should also be very attentive in the search.

The spotted arum

Also, a confusion of wild garlic with the young leaves of the spotted arum would be fatal, after all, its consumption can lead to deadly poisoning. However, young leaves of the Aronstab, which do not yet have the characteristic arrow shape, optically distinguish from the wild garlic. Their leaf nerves do not run in the longitudinal direction as in the wild garlic, but in irregular directions and not parallelnervig.

Tips

Inexperienced herbalists should in case of doubt prefer to keep their hands off wildly harvested wild garlic. Wild garlic from own planting or from the dealer excludes the danger of confusion usually as far as possible.