Histological Features Detected for Separation of the Edible Leaves of L. from the Poisonous Leaves of L. and L.

(wild garlic) has long been collected and consumed as food and medicine in the north temperate zone, where its popularity is growing. and contain toxic alkaloids. Their habitats overlap, and without flowers, their vegetative organs are similar. Confusing the leaves of or with the leaves of wild garlic has repeatedly led to serious human and animal poisonings. Our goal was to find a histological characteristic that makes the separation of these leaves clear. We compared the anatomy of foliage leaves of these three species grown in the same garden (Debrecen, Hungary, Central Europe). We used a bright-field microscope to characterize the transversal sections of leaves. Cell types of epidermises were compared based on peels and different impressions. We established some significant differences in the histology of leaves. The adaxial peels of consist of only "long" cells without stomata, but the abaxial ones show "long", "short" and "T" cells with wavy cell walls as a peculiarity, and stomata. and leaves are amphystomatic, but in the case of , they are hypostomatic. These traits were confirmed with herbarium specimens. Our results help to clearly identify these species even in mixed, dried plant material and may be used for diagnostic purposes.