Ramps, false hellebore and skunk cabbage. VDH images
Beware of a dangerous imposter if you are foraging for ramps this spring
Vermont Business Magazine Wild leeks, also known as ramps (
Allium tricoccum), are a wild edible that many Vermonters enjoy each spring. If you are foraging for them, be careful to not mistake the ramps for a poisonous lookalike plant called false hellebore.
The young leaves of American false hellebore (
Veratrum viride) are often mistaken for ramps. False hellebore contains poisonous chemicals called alkaloids, and eating false hellebore can make people very sick, enough to hospitalize them.
According to the Northern New England Poison Center there has been at least one reported poisoning in Vermont so far this year. Last year, the poison control center managed 25 cases involving Vermonters with possible false hellebore poisoning, more than four times the usual number.