You shouldn't go looking for the edible gooseberry lightly. Especially with wild plants such as wild garlic and lily of the valley, incorrect identification can be dangerous and, in the worst case, even fatal. There are several similar plants when it comes to goosegrass!
How can you distinguish groundweed from poisonous plants?
To avoid confusing groundweed with poisonous plants like spotted hemlock or dog parsley, look for triangular stems, toothed leaves, and parsley-like smell. In similar, harmless plants, features such as leaf shape and edge can help distinguish them.
Poisonous Relatives – Spotted Hemlock and Dog Parsley
It's best not to use the flowers as a guide when identifying groundweed! There are some species from the same plant family (Umbelliferae) whose flowers look almost identical. For example, spotted hemlock and dog parsley, both of which are poisonous. A mix-up can have bad consequences.
Here are the characteristics that will help you distinguish ground hemlock from dog parsley and spotted hemlock:
- Spotted hemlock: reddish spots on the stem
- Dog parsley: leaves are much more finely pinnate and structured, not sawn at the edge, deeply cut
- Gearweed: triangular stem, tripartite leaves with tripartite individual leaves, serrated on the edge of the leaf, parsley-like smell
Similar plants that are harmless
Then there are the bibernelle, the wild carrot, the forest angelica and the broad-leaved merk. They, too, look very similar to the gooseberry. But unlike dog parsley and hemlock, they are not poisonous. Only the broad-leaved Merk can cause diarrhea after consumption.
Distinguish between elderberry and gourd
Compared to young elderberry, which is extremely he althy, the leaves of young elderberry are poisonous. During and shortly after they sprout, they look like the leaves of the groundweed.
But you can easily tell these two plants apart. If you know how: The elderberry has a round stem in cross section (triangular) and does not smell like parsley or carrot when crushed.
Distinguishing hogweed and groundweed
Hogweed also resembles groundweed with its foliage. However, it is slightly poisonous. For sensitive people, just touching it can cause skin irritation. Here are the differences between the leaves:
- Hogweed: pinnate to curved leaves
- Gearweed: smaller leaves, jagged on the edge
Tip
The best way to distinguish goutweed from other umbelliferous plants is by its triangular stems and toothed leaves!