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Thursday 13 October 2011

Poisonous berries and things



(Sorry but this might be a case of Lycanthropy, given that I was affected by the full moon last night in a bad way. I kept falling out with other people over subjects on food!)

It's that time of year also when we move closer to the darker season. The days shorten. It feels colder and it's getting colder and colder. There are also many colours in the gloom that look pretty in the woodlands, forests and gardens. However, some is totally poisonous and must be avoided.

Now here is a few of those Autumn plants and fruits that should not be eaten.

Wild mushrooms = Some look edible, and some look juicy and rich. However DON'T eat them! Please do not eat them even if you feel tempted by looking at them. Carefully, using gloves, pick off and chuck away any wild mushroom that you find growing in your garden or wherever children are playing (playgrounds, parks, lanes, walkways and even the yard). Once you pick these wild mushrooms, get rid of them so these are out of anyone's reach.

Roses and fallen stff from trees = Prune the rose bushes otherwise it would give off a dirty look and make the sourrounding soil a bit nasty. Clear away fallen leaves, berries, sticks and other foliage from trees that land around your house for some of these could be, or would get, quite toxic.

Wild berries = Some are unedible and quite toxic even though some are used in herbal remedies, medicines, food conserves and ingrediants. Yet there are those berries which cannot and shouldn't be eaten raw. Now here is a list of these colourful and pretty poisonous wild berries:

1. (Hawthorn) These tiny red berries are used in making wine and jam but they're not pleasant to eat raw. Some of them have a bitter taste and others may cause pain. Not to be eaten, and those with a heart disorder should not really consider touching them as raw berries.

2. (Honeysuckle) Avoid eating the seeds of these red berries.

3. (Yew berries) These berries are lethal and highly poisonous. 

4. (Black Bryony) These pretty clusters of bright red berries are extremely poisonous and should not be consumed at all.

5. (Bittersweet) Grown in groups of oval shaped berries, these are also called "Woody Nightshade" and they are really poisonous.

6. (Spindle) The Autumn grows such cute pink berries that are really very poisonous and deadly.

7. (Holly) The luscious looking rubylike berries with the prickly leaves are poisonous and must not be eaten.

8. (Butcher's Broom) Red berries grown among a stabbing prickly plant mustn't be eaten. These are poisonous to humans.

9. (Ivy) A bunch of small black berries are very bad and must not be eaten by anyone.

10. (Tutsan) Part of the St John's Wort family genus, these berries are used in medicines but they're not edible and mustn't be eaten.

11. (Lilly Of The Valley) Red berries grown from this plant are very poisonous.

12. (Black Nightshade) This changes from green and black, and they shouldn't be consumed.

13. (Deadly Nightshade) Extremely toxic black berries.

14. (Dogwood) These black berries are unpleasant tasting and it's advisable not to eat them.

15. (Herb Paris) Poisonous black berries.

Thanks to the helpful information out there. There is more to be found here:
Safe Gardening
Berries - Food School
Wiki list of poisonous plants


Also Potatoes "also produce berries after flowering.These berries contain a very deadly alkaloid poison and have been in the past responsible for a number of fatalities.The berries appear after flowering in clusters on a short stalk. Each cluster contains an average of six berries.Small, shiny, and green, the berries have a five lobed calyx and are topped by a short stalk." Source.

In my garden there is a sprig of orange berries that fell from a climbing tree next door. These orange berries might be Rowan. I still make sure that no one eats them because they're wild and raw, containing toxins (regardless of the fact these berries are used in food and medicine). I pass a lot of brightly coloured berries and they look like sweets... be warned.

Books on this subject : "Poisonous Plants in Great Britain" by Fred Gillam. "Poisonous Plants: A Guide for Parents and Childcare Providers" by Elizabeth A. Dauncey. "Wicked Plants" by Amy Stewart.   

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