Lords and Ladies (Arum Maculatum)

For many years, I have seen these plants growing in shady hedgerows and woodlands. I decided to check it out on Wikipedia and was surprised to find that the orange berries are extremely poisonous to humans, rodents however quite enjoy them!  Apparently they taste disgusting, and because of this, not many people have been known to actually eat them and suffer the dire consequences as a result. They grow from an edible tuber which is found about 16" below ground level. The tubers when prepared properly, were used for making a working class drink prior to the introduction of tea or coffee to this country. It goes without saying, that if prepared incorrectly, it became highly toxic with sometimes fatal results!