Beware of confusion between autumn crocus and wild garlic

Serious or even fatal poisoning

Each year, the network of French poison control centres records about 250 cases of poisonous plants being mistaken for edible plants.

Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) is most often confused with wild garlic (Allium ursinum), and more rarely with many-flowered garlic (Allium polyanthum). These three plants grow in the spring in the same types of undergrowth, especially in France's eastern regions and in Occitania.

Eating autumn crocus can lead to serious or even fatal poisoning, depending on the quantity of leaves ingested, the concentration of colchicine in the plant (which varies greatly), and whether it is in combination with certain common drugs (including macrolide antibiotics and antivitamin K), which can significantly increase the toxic risk. The first clinical manifestations are potentially severe digestive disorders (vomiting and diarrhoea), occurring within hours of ingestion.

How can you tell the difference between wild garlic and autumn crocus?

Wild garlic (ramson) is an edible wild plant, 15 to 40 cm high when mature, with a characteristic garlic smell, especially when its leaves are crushed. Its star-shaped flowers and elongated bulb are both white. The long-stemmed, oval, pointed leaves are glossy to varying degrees. This plant often grows in large carpets in cool undergrowth, in damp shady valley bottoms or along streams. The leaves appear in February-March and the flowers from April to early June. The leaves are picked until the first flowers appear.

Autumn crocus leaves are stiffer and stemless, and its bulb is round and dark. The mauve flowers do not appear until autumn, only the leaves are visible in spring; they are fleshy and round-tipped, and seem to emerge straight out of the ground. All parts of the plant are poisonous.

The Agency’s recommendations

If you do pick wild garlic:

• Do not make assumptions: ensure you know which plant you are picking,
• Check that each leaf has a garlic odour when rubbed,
• Do not pick leaves by the armful: avoid gathering different types of plant together as you could mix toxic species with edible ones,
• If you have any doubts about identification, do not eat them!
• Stop eating the leaves immediately if they have a bitter or unpleasant taste,
• Take photographs of the plants you pick for easier identification in the event of poisoning.

If you have any doubts after ingestion or if you experience any digestive or other symptoms within hours of eating a dish containing wild garlic or many-flowered garlic, contact a poison control centre immediately.