2021-04-02 12:07:31
Poisonings that occur in the spring
Colchium (Colchicum autumnale) is most often confused with wild garlic (Allium ursinum), more rarely with wild leek (Allium polyanthum). These three plants grow in the spring in the same undergrowth. The flowers of colchicum, very different from those of wild garlic or wild leek, only appear in the fall, following the other two, which can make it easier to confuse the leaves of these three plants picked up in the spring. before they flower.
Between 2020 and 2022, 28 cases of confusion colchicum and wild garlic or wild leek have been registered by poison control centres. The poisonings took place from March to May, with a peak in Aprilmainly in the Grand Est region and Auvergne Rhône Alpes.
The people had prepared the collected leaves in a pesto sauce for half of them. They had eaten them in salad, fried or quiche for the other half.
Two people who died between 2020 and 2022
Among the poisoned people, half presented pronounced or prolonged symptoms (diarrhoea or persistent vomiting) and four people severe symptoms that might threaten the vital prognosis such as serious digestive, hepatic and hematological disorders. Two people died.
The severity of the poisoning depends on the quantity of leaves ingested, the very variable concentration of colchicine present in the plant, and the association with certain common drugs (macrolide-type antibiotics, antivitamin K, etc.) which can significantly increase toxic risk.
How to distinguish wild garlic from colchicum?
wild garlic is an edible wild plant, 15 to 40 cm high at maturity, which has a characteristic garlic odor, especially when the leaves are crumpled. Its star-shaped flowers and elongated bulb are white. The leaves are more or less shiny, oval and pointed, carried by stems. This plant often grows in large carpets in the cool undergrowth, the bottoms of shaded and humid valleys or along the streams. The leaves appear in February-March and the flowers from April to early June. The harvest period ends with the first flowers.
colchic leaves are stiffer, stemless, and the bulb is round and dark. The mauve flowers only appear in autumn, only the leaves are visible in spring; they are fleshy, blunt-tipped, and seem to come straight out of the ground. All parts of the plant are poisonous.
Our recommendations
If you pick wild garlic:
- don’t improvise: make sure you know the plant well;
- check for the presence of a garlic odor when crumpling each leaf;
- do not pick the leaves in armfuls to avoid picking several species and mixing toxic species with edible species;
- in case of doubt regarding the identification: do not consume!
- stop eating immediately if a bitter or unpleasant taste occurs;
- photograph your picking to facilitate identification in case of poisoning.
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