George Shirley wrote:

> Always wondered what the first human thought as he or,
> more likely, she took a bite of a new herb.

> You gotta wonder.

So anyway, a friend of mine was collecting ramps,
which I introduced him to,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum

in his woods a few weeks ago,
and while he was gathering some with his son,
he noticed another plant.
I think he was very taken with the concept
of tramping through the woods
and feasting on the available flora,
so he ate a leaf from the other plant.
It had no disgreeable taste and the leaf was tender
and he felt fine for about forty five minutes.
His son tasted it and spit it out.

We later identified the plant as false hellebore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veratrum_viride

It turns out that the false hellebore
is one of the most (if not *the* most) poisonous
green plants that grow in those woods,
and that was the time of the year when they are at their
peak toxicity and he almost died.

Every once in a while I pull up some weed
like wild parsnip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsnip
which we cook,
or a young wild carrot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_carrot
and start munching.

I think a gave him the false impression
that grabbing plants to eat,
while taking a walk outdoors,
is a simpler matter than it really is.

--
pete