Omnia SanaThis tool aids identification but does not replace an expert. Never eat a wild plant or fungus on the strength of a single feature. When in doubt, throw it out.
Mugwort can be confused with 1 dangerous plant/fungus. Check every distinguishing feature before you trust an identification.
Considered the most poisonous plant in Europe. All parts contain aconitine; the lethal dose in an adult is only 2-6 mg, and poisoning - starting with tingling and numbness of the mouth, vomiting and severe muscle pain - can kill within hours through respiratory failure and cardiac arrhythmia, with no specific antidote. The toxin is even absorbed through the skin. Young monkshood leaves resemble those of mugwort and other lobed-leaved plants.
Confusable part: Young deeply lobed leaves gathered for use; young monkshood - the most poisonous plant in Europe - has similar deeply divided leaves.
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) is foraged for its aromatic, deeply lobed leaves. As Totally Wild UK warns, it would be a very deadly mistake to confuse young mugwort with monkshood (Aconitum napellus), whose young leaves are similarly deeply divided. Monkshood is considered the most poisonous plant in Europe: all parts contain aconitine, the lethal dose is only 2-6 mg, and poisoning can kill within hours through respiratory and cardiac failure - the toxin is even absorbed through the skin. Although monkshood is less common, its extreme toxicity makes this confusion critical to avoid.
How to tell them apart
- Leaf underside (decisive): mugwort leaves have a distinctive silvery-white woolly underside. Monkshood leaves are green and hairless on both sides, with no silver felt. No silver underside = not mugwort.
- Flowers: mugwort has small, dull reddish-brown flower spikes; monkshood has tall spikes of unmistakable hooded blue-purple flowers.
- Handling: do not handle a suspected monkshood with bare hands - aconitine can be absorbed through the skin.
Turn the leaf over. A silvery-white woolly underside (with small dull flowers) = mugwort. Green, hairless undersides - and especially any hooded blue-purple flowers - mean monkshood, the most poisonous plant in Europe; do not gather or even handle it with bare hands.
Educational identification aid compiled from the Omnia Sana plant database and cited botanical and toxicological sources. Not medical advice and not a substitute for expert identification.