CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- An updated book aims to help people identify and avoid poisonous plants that are found in Virginia.

According to a release, "The Socrates Project - Poisonous Plants in Virginia" book is designed to be an easily-read resource for parents, the general public and medical providers.

It contains full-color photographs and can be used to identify 25 poisonous plants that grow wild in Virginia.

For example, people looking for leeks have been picking a plant called False Hellebore, which is highly poisonous, instead. 

This book is a collaboration between the Virginia Master Naturalists Program, the Blue Ridge Poison Center at the University of Virginia Health System, and the UVA School of Medicine's Division of Medical Toxicology.

The release says this project started when members of the Old Rag Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists Programs learned that hundreds of exposures to poisonous plants are reported each year in the Commonwealth.

It adds that young children are often attracted to potentially poisonous plants while outside, and adults sometimes mistake a poisonous species for an edible one.

“Our experts become quickly concerned when they receive a Poison Center call about somebody who has intentionally eaten a plant they harvested from the wild,” said Christopher Holstege, MD, medical director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center and the toxicology consultant for the book. “Children often eat just a few berries. But a forager is more likely to consume a large amount. This can lead to more serious health effects.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been spending more time outside and there has been an increased interest in foraging for wild foods, which is what can lead to accidental poisoning.

The book is available for free here.

If anyone may have eaten a poisonous plant, someone should call a local poison center at (800) 222-1222.