Wild garlic is everywhere. How can you tell wild garlic, lily of the valley and meadow saffron apart?

The wild garlic season is here and you can easily see it growing everywhere. This attracts plenty of people who love this plant and “hunt” it like there is no tomorrow. But this is not necessary, because you can easily grow wild garlic in your garden. However, if you prefer going to the forest, you should know exactly what wild garlic looks like. Here are the basic characteristics to avoid confusion with lily of the valley or meadow saffron, whichalso grow in forests and floodplains. So, what are the main differences between these plants?

Leaves and location

Leaves are very important. So what do they look like?

Wild garlic:

• shiny, petiolate leaves,
• no visible veins on leaves,
• leaves grow directly from the ground,
• wild garlic grows in large groups.

Lily of the valley:

• broad lanceolate leaves,
• leaves are bald,
• two leaves almost always grow opposite each other,
• leaves share the same stem.

Meadow saffron

• lanceolate to strap-shaped leaves,
• solid edges and bald leaves,
• meadow saffron grows individually.

Photo: Pixabay

Different flowers

Flowers of all plants vary. Wild garlic is often harvested before it flowers, so the flowers may not be the most important feature to tell the difference.

Wild garlic

• spherical flowers,
• sparse panicle,
• lovely garlic aroma.

Photo: Pixabay

Lily of the Valley

• flowers grow in bundles similar to grapes,
• resemble little white bells,
• typical floral scent – no garlic smell.

Photo: Pixabay

Meadow saffron

• purple, pinkish flowers, not white,
• flowers shaped like tubes,
• grows on a long stalk, resembling a crocus.

Photo: Pixabay

Typical scent

If you rub wild garlic between your fingers, you will get a wonderful garlic smell. Practically the entire plant smells like garlic but meadow saffron and lily of the valley do not. Only the flowers are fragrant. Other parts have virtually no scent.

Other typical features of wild garlic

The most typical feature includes the presence of bulbs. Meadow saffron has a tuber and lily of the valley grows a rhizome. We should also mention the germination time. Lily of the valley grows when a wild garlic season is about to end.

Source: abecedazahrady.dama.cz, living.iprima.cz, medvedi-cesnek.cz

Preview photo: Pixabay