At the beginning of the wild garlic season, there are repeated warnings about the risk of confusion. In Deutsch-Wagram, Lower Austria, this was fatal for an elderly couple. With wild garlic they had picked themselves – or so they thought – the two prepared a soup. A few hours after eating it, the man and his wife had to be hospitalized. “We suspected it was food poisoning. When we delivered the two people to the hospital, they were stable,” a member of the Red Cross told “NÖN”.
A few days later there was a shock: the couple died as a result of poisoning. Instead of wild garlic, they probably picked autumn crocus and used it in the soup. The hospital did not want to comment on the deaths to “NÖN” for data protection reasons.
Differences between wild garlic, autumn crocus and lilies of the valley
Wild garlic collectors should be well informed in advance about how to distinguish the tasty plant from its highly poisonous counterparts. A clear indication of wild garlic is its strong garlic scent, which neither autumn crocus nor lily of the valley has.
Wild garlic leaves also emerge individually from the ground and are clearly divided into a lancet-like leaf surface and a thin petiole. The leaves of the autumn crocus are narrow, elongated, sit on the stem without a stem and emerge from the ground in clumps. On the other hand, if a lily of the valley does not bloom, it can produce a single leaf that looks very similar to those of wild garlic.