By Island County Extension Agent, Donald B. Meehan
EDIBLE AND POISONOUS WILD BERRIES
Recently I got a call from a mother who was concerned about her child having
eaten some red berries. She was not sure about the edibility of the berries and
wanted to know if they were safe. I had not noticed all of the red elder berries
growing at this time of the year, but she had and this was the berry her child
had consumed. After a brief talk with her we decided she should check with the
poison control center in Seattle for their advice on the type of symptoms her
child might exhibit from this type of poisoning.
Unfortunately this is not that uncommon. Each year our office is asked to identify
berries growing in the woods that people want to eat or make jams from. The concern
I have is that there are probably many people who do not contact us and consume
wild berries without checking.
Many wild berries are available to us here in Island County, some are edible
and others are poisonous. Learning to recognize which are safe is important;
and more importantly, teaching children to not eat them is even more important.
It is my experience that young children often do not remember which are which
without a lot of practice. I advise teaching them not to eat wild berries is
the best approach instead of trying to teach them which is which.
Poisonous berries can contain a variety of toxic compounds. Nightshades contain
solanine Alkaloids, Daphne berries contain glycosides and laurel berries contain
complex esinoid substances. There are about nine major classifications of naturally
occurring toxic principles.
People react to these substances with some degree of variation. Some people
may be tolerant of small doses and others may be highly susceptible showing severe
symptoms. What kinds of symptoms can one expect to see? This is often difficult
to answer unless we know which type of berry was consumed. As a general rule
symptoms can range from nausea to paralysis. Things like vomiting, salivation,
headache, difficult breathing, and hallucinations can appear.
The Seattle Poison Center has developed a brochure called "A guide to Plant Poisoning
Prevention and Treatment". It is an excellent publication which provides a list
of safe, as well as poisonous, plants. It indicates which types of poisoning
symptoms are likely for each poisonous plant listed. Most importantly, it provides
the phone number for the Poison Control Center. Here it is in case you can't
wait, 1-800-222-1222. This number is also listed in the front of your local phone
book along with emergency numbers. In addition to this one you should have the
emergency
number for the Whidbey Island General Hospital. It is 911.
What about the berries that are safe? Which ones are they? There is quite a
number of them. Here is the list, you will be surprised at some on the list.
EDIBLE BERRIES FOUND ON WHIDBEY ISLAND:
HUCKLEBERRY
BLACK RASPBERRY
BLUE ELDERBERRY
THIMBLEBERRY
OREGON GRAPE
SALAL
BLACKCAP BERRIES
WILD STRAWBERRIES
DEW BERRY
MOUNTAIN ASH BERRIES
SALMONBERRY
CRANBERRY
KINNIKINNIC
ROSEHIPS
GOOSEBERRY
HAWTHORNE
WILD CURRANT
HIMALAYAN BLACKBERRY
Available from our office is a publication developed some years ago by Extension
Home Economist, Sylvia Johnson, called, "Island Berries". It provides recipes
for most of these berries. You can obtain a copy, for a small fee, by calling
our office and requesting it by name. We will be glad to mail it to you.
If you have a plant in your backyard with berries on it and you are not sure
if it is edible you can contact any of the Island County WSU-Master Gardeners
or our office to get it identified. Call our office and we will refer you to
the nearest WSU-Master Gardener.
In addition, we will send you, for a small fee, a handout on poisonous berries
in Western Washington which gives berry description and season when ripe.
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