PEI’s landscape is full of wild fruits right now, but not all are edible. Let’s look at two of the species I’ve been getting a lot of questions about, along with one more everyone should know.
First up are the attractive, jewel-like berries of Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamera, Photo 1). This invasive plant is common along the Island’s streams, hedgerows, and field edges, as well as in farmyards and disturbed areas. It’s the same genus as potato, tomato, and eggplant, and in the same family as chili peppers, bell peppers, and tobacco, among other economically important plants.
Nightshade berries contain solanine (also found in green potatoes), which is toxic to people, pets, and livestock. Solanine is highest in the unripe green berries, lessening as the fruit matures through yellow and orange to ripe red. There are other, far more toxic berries growing wild on PEI, but Bittersweet Nightshade grows in places where people – especially children – are likely to find it. Severe illness or death caused by this plant is rare but documented, and it’s possible that some people are more sensitive to solanine than others. Common effects are nausea, diarrhoea, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, and hallucinations.
The most common “can I eat this berry?” question I get this time of year is for Glossy Buckthorn (Frangula alnus, Photo 2). This invasive species is common in central and eastern PEI, especially around urban and suburban areas, and it regularly catches the eye of would-be foragers. Questions posted online often elicit the incorrect identification of ‘Cherry’.
Unlike Cherries, ripe Glossy Buckthorn fruit is black rather than red or dark purple; it’s not uncommon to find unripe green, yellow, and red berries on the same shrub with ripe black ones. Leaves are shiny (glossy) above, and their undersides are dull with veins raised above the leaf surface like ridges. Our wild Cherries have distinctive dots (glands) on the leaf stem which you won’t find on Glossy Buckthorn. Like Bittersweet Nightshade, Glossy Buckthorn isn’t among the most toxic berries we have, but eating them will cause stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea. I haven’t seen any documented cases of human deaths attributed to this plant, but it has been responsible for deaths of cattle and horses who ate the twigs, leaves, and berries.
Many people recognize Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radians) leaves, but fewer will identify it from its greyish-white berries (Photo 3). The full version of the popular rhyme has this covered: Leaves of three, let it be. Berries white, take flight. All parts of this plant contain urushiol, an oily substance that binds to your skin. Urushiol itself is harmless, and neither wildlife nor domestic animals are affected by it. But most humans are allergic to it and intense itching and burning is the result.
Poison Ivy’s fruit doesn’t look appetizing, and you may have heard my advice to avoid eating white berries. But natural products are very popular for fall decorating, and I’ve known more than one person to collect these twigs for seasonal displays. The mistake is usually well and quickly learned! Because urushiol doesn’t affect other animals, Poison Ivy berries are useful fall and winter food for a variety of birds and small mammals.
The role of fruit is to help a plant disperse its seeds, and so assuming that all fruit is edible can be an easy mistake to make. Other mammals and birds can safely eat things we can’t, and it’s important to positively identify a plant and know whether it’s edible before trying it. Safe foraging is a great way to explore PEI untamed!
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