Meadow saffron

Its flowers appear in autumn completely leafless — the leaves only grow the following spring, hence its nickname 'naked ladies'. Another dangerous and well-documented confusion: the young leaves of meadow saffron, which come out of the ground in spring, resemble those of ramsons. The same useful gesture applies: crush a leaf and smell it. Meadow saffron gives off no garlic smell, its leaves have no true petiole and come up grouped and upright, directly from the ground in a tight rosette. But as with lily of the valley, this is only one clue among others, not a guarantee: meadow saffron is extremely toxic, with no antidote — if in doubt, never eat it.