Wild garlic

[Baldy]

Got loads of it this year.. was considering making pesto from it but next door neighbor says it's not the "right" wild garlic. Is she right? (The interfering busybody may have saved me from a poisoning)

[nickdub]

a photo would be the best bet to settle the matter - or if you want to do the id yourself, find an image of Ramson (Allium ursinum) and do the comparison.

[Jimny14]

I've heard of a couple of different plants been eaten with problematic effect by people thinking they've got wild garlic. The first is lily of the Valley, grows in similar habitat and has similar leaves (doesn't smell like garlic) and second is cockoo pint (arum maculatum) which when young can be accidentally collected alongside wild garlic and the immature leaves accidentally eaten which can cause quite a bad reaction with localised swelling in the mouth and an upset stomach with only a small amount. A friend and colleague of mine had a case of a pt (we're dentists) doing just that a few years ago, took us ages to work out what he'd done, luckily we are all country folk and after ruling out everything else he realised it must have been the cuckoo pint. My mate wrote up the case in a journal to warn others. But I can't think of something that smells garlicky and looks like wild garlic that will do you harm.

[Baldy]

I'll try to remember to photo when I get back home end of week. Certainly seems to have enjoyed the wet cold so-called Spring we've had

[Scarlet]

I'm with Jimny, I cant think of a plant that smells of garlic that isn't edible? Not the right garlic? Hmm, I think she's probably talking a load of cobblers!