Whether as pesto, soup or herb butter - wild garlic can be used to conjure up delicious dishes. If you pick the plant yourself, you should not confuse it with autumn crocuses and lily of the valley. This can be life-threatening.
Wild garlic looks very similar to the poisonous lily of the valley and autumn crocus. Collectors should therefore take a close look at the stems before taking them home.
Autumn crocus and lily of the valley store substances in their leaves that can cause life-threatening poisoning. Symptoms include vomiting, cramps, acute circulatory problems and bloody diarrhea, which occur two to six hours after eating.
Wild wild garlic can also pose a health risk: Eggs of the small fox tapeworm could be attached to the leaves. However, if you follow these tips from a parasitologist, you can significantly reduce the risk.
How to distinguish wild garlic from lily of the valley and autumn crocus
A wild garlic leaf grows out of the ground on a single stem; the plants usually grow in groups close together.
With lily of the valley, on the other hand, two leaves always grow on one stem. In the case of autumn crocus, on the other hand, several leaves initially lie close to the stem and then open up.
Another, and probably the most reliable, distinguishing feature is that the typical garlic smell is produced when wild garlic leaves are crushed.
Es muss nicht immer Pesto sein – herzhaftes Speckbrot mit Bärlauch
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