Should we worry about 'poisonous' fruit and vegetable plants?

[Adrian Fox]

The more I read about some popular and not so popular plants, the more I worry a bit about whether I'm potentially eating something poisonous. For example, I read recently that the leaves, flowers, paper husk and even the unripe fruit of most of the physalis family are poisonous. Makes me wonder how healthy the fruit themselves are! I know you might say the same about tomatoes (foliage, roots etc), but generally unripe tomatoes aren't actually toxic. With some plants you can eat every part of the plant without any fears. How many of our other 'popular' food plants have to be approached with caution?

[Colleen]

I think that there are a number of plants from the nightshade family that have poisonous leaves, but not fruit. Here in Pennsylvania, there is a woodland plant called Woody Nightshade. You can supposedly eat the berries from this plant; although, I have never tried them.
Still, having benign fruit makes evolutionary sense. After all, if the fruit were poisonous, then the seed couldn't be spread by birds and other creatures that eat it. Yet, if the creatures could eat the plant, then it wouldn't survive at all. But I’m not sure that I have answered your question.

[chris w]

I'd always worry about whether or not things are edible, birds can eat things we can't so I wouldn't assume anything. I personally don't know about things being unedible but I do only eat what I know has been certified as safe. This is a good question!

[Joel LeGrand]

Hi everyone, when my son joined cub scouts I was drifted to teach poisonous plants class, because I was the only one with a garden . All I knew was folklore passed down by family, so I went to a school teacher, library & Books A Million. I now use South Carolina Wildflowers , Feasting Free On Wild Edidles, & in Peterson Field Guides: Venomous Animals & Poisonous Plants. For example in the book Venomous Animals & Poisonous Plants on page 188 it states,

Hope this helps.

[Joel LeGrand]

Sorry the "cut and paste did not work. the Jist was that Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara L.) the whole plant is poisonous its a woody climbing vine oval leaves, flowers are violent (or white) stars. It is found in much of N. America less than 10 unripened/mature berries can make one sick. As many as 2 hundred is a lethal dose. Berries and leaves contain toxic steroidal alkaloids.

[Adrian Fox]

I wanted to ask about this partly as I was growing a 'mystery plant' from seed I found in the autumn on a large plant with dark purple berries (it was in a park area at Saumur in the Loire Valley, France.) I've discovered this is Pokeberry, an American plant, and every part is poisonous. When I researched it on the Internet, I found lots of people in the southern states eat the young leaves like spinach (having cooked them thoroughly), without any apparent harm.
Of the nightshades, there's a berry called a Garden Huckleberry, a solanum family plant, which looks identical to Black Nightshade which is poisonous. Perhaps this is the same as the 'Woody Nightshade' referred to by Colleen?
Personally, there are so many safe things to eat, I don't risk this. Though here, all the locals collect a huge variety of fungi from the forests to eat, some of which are easily confused with very poisonous ones!

[Joel LeGrand]

HI Adrian, Peterson Identification is that their are two Black Nightshades. One is SOLANUM NIGRUM L; the other is SOLANUM PTYCANTHUM DUN. (Pg.86.) . Woody Nightshade is SOLANUM DULCAMARA L. & the whole plant of all of three plants are poisonous. As for Poke of the poke weed family, Phytolacca americana L. ; the whole plant is poisonous. However P.F.G. says young spring leaves gathered before stalks turn red are traditionally boiled in several waters as a pot herb. Also known as scoke , pigeonberry, garget, & inkberry. WILD EDIBLES by ANGIER " The Indians found it delicious, & some of the first European adventurers on these shores were in such agreement that they took the seeds back to France & southern Europe..... " Hope this helps.

[Michelle W. Flannery]

The process of discovering which plants and parts thereof are edible is one that man has been exploring since the beginning of time. Eons of plant exploration, tasting, testing, experimenting, and learning has produced volumes upon volumes of detailed information, not to mention meticulous drawings. Certainly 99% (at least) of this accumulated knowledge is readily available now in books, and on the internet. Hundreds, if not thousands of plants, and their various parts and fruits, have been cleared for human consumption by researchers and food experts. A minimal investment of our own time in research can answer any lingering questions about a particular plant. I think the answer to your question is that minimal caution is needed concerning our more popular food plants.

[Adrian Fox]

Thanks to Joel about how Pokeweed came to France and southern Europe. Now I've started growing it, it's amazing how many other plants I've managed to spot in ditches and gardens round the area. It's quite an attractive plant, even in its flowering stage, and as long as our dogs don't try to eat the berries, they are quite attractive. We have one dog that eats meloncillos, the tiny black passion fruits of passiflora suberosa, direct off the vine! (But those are edible, even if they taste disgusting!)

[John Walker]

Don't grow pokeweed. unless its endemic in your area, you will regret it.
I see you are in France. Its not native,
please cut it all down.
We in the US are being overrun by invasive plants.
pax
John

[Joel LeGrand]

Hi Adrian,
The birds here in S.C. love poke berries. I have heard, but no seen, that the birds get drunk off the poke berries. Who knows, maybe the deer hunter, who told me the story was drunk.