It’s Ramp season here in Vermont. Ramps, or Wild Leeks are a wonderfully delicious food to forage from the New England forests come spring. They are the first of all the “choice” wild foods that can be foraged each year. While the experienced forager tends to classify Ramps as one of the easier wild edibles to identify, there is one notable look-a-like that anyone who is not experienced at identifying ramps should pay attention to.
I am speaking of False Hellebore. This New England perennial just so happens to spring up at almost the exact same time as the Wild Leek. While to the trained eye, it is noticeably different, the plant is quite toxic, and was actually used by some Native Americans as a method of suicide. Increasingly, every year more people are sent to the hospital due to this look-a-like plant. You can read all about the false hellebore ramp look-a-like here. You can also watch this little video I made that shows the difference between the two plants below.
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