Imagine someone taking an adventurous trip in a forest, and while walking, the person comes across with an excellent looking tasty, bright-colored berries. Do you think the person would just leave those berries without taking or eating them? I guess the result is 90% out of 10% of people consume those berries.
What are berries?
A berry is a pulpy, small, and often edible fruit, meaning that they are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, and sour or tart. We have berries that are blue or purple, and these come from perennial flowering. Farmers do not plant wild blueberries, but they are managed on the barrens field. Barrens is the name given to fields in which berries are collected. Wild berries reproduce by cross-pollination.
In most stores, they sell strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, and these three berries are very common. Have you ever thought of wild berries? These are delicious but abundant in the wild, with highly active nutrients and powerful plant compounds born unto them.
Identifying Poisonous Wild Berries
Due to a lack of knowledge, it’s easier for a person to consume poisonous wild berries even though not all wild berries are poisonous. You are in the right place and the right time to learn how to identify such poisonous berries.
When we talk about “poison,” most people are afraid of the word itself. Wild berries are plentiful, delicious, and can be found mostly in national parks, trails, mountains, and wilderness areas. For now, you have to put aside the poisonous berries and focus on berries that are not harmless to eat. They are few poisonous wild berries that can make you sick by causing stomach pain and heart problems leading to death if not treated early.
Poisonous berries can be identified through their color, size, stem, bushes, and taste. We mostly know the statement that says, “Prevention is better than cure” this is the right place to be taught about these poisonous wild berries that you might come across with. Below are tips to observe when you come across these wild berries.
● Studying the plant
First of all, take a look at the plant and examine the flowers, leaves, stem, and plant. Berries that aren’t poisonous come in the form of bunches and clusters; therefore, inspect the plant’s shapes, colors, and branches. To be sure about the actual berries, examine the season on which berries grow.
● Colour of the berries
Colour is a vital tip to focus on. As we have noted before, mostly blueberries come in blue or purple color. So why consume red, yellow, and white berries which grow in clusters? They should be avoided. On the other hand berries that are blue, purple, and blackberries are not harmful to consume.
● Climatic and Regional Conditions
Certain wild berries are usually restricted in areas with different climatic conditions; for instance, it is preferable to look berries in the regions that have high growth of berries rather than searching for those areas with only a few plantations of berries.
Areas with sunny patches and old postures can provide you with blackberries, unlike blueberries, which can be found in rocky places, sunny areas, and in most areas that have sandy soil.
● Hire an Expert
Experts have vast knowledge, rather than wasting much time and energy; it’s better to find someone who has a vast knowledge of wild plants and vegetation. At this point, you can easily notice the difference between poisonous berries and eatable ones.
● Taste the berries
Everyone knows that a tongue is an essential part of the body to taste; therefore, you can taste these wild berries, and the flavor will speak itself. Before we go deeper, do not swallow or ingest the berries because if you do so, ingestion can spread the poison, and you will become sick leading to death.
Others are now thinking if they taste these wild berries, they might get sick or die, not at all. When you taste without swallowing, you are safe. If the berry taste seems to be sweet or familiar, then just know that you are safe. However, if that flavor becomes bitter, unpleasant, irritate, it’s possible that it might be poisonous; therefore, you have to spit it out.
● Smell the berries to avoid herbicides plants
Again, everyone has a sense of smell. Smelling berries to figure out whether the berries are chemical-free because we know that chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides can convert fine berries into poisonous ones.
● Don’t follow animals
Have you ever notices that animals can consume other plants, but that doesn’t mean that it can apply to human consumption. Why say so? Because we human beings and animals are two different things, especially when it comes to our digestive systems.
When we see animals eating wild berries, we have to taste them at least, smell them, or eat only a small quantity if necessary. If you feel any toxicity symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, convulsions, blurred vision, and cramps, please visit the doctor or call the poisonous control team as soon as possible.
Poisonous Wild berries to avoid
Even though wild berries are the most delicious with their inbuilt natural tasting, there are poisonous berries that look like blueberries. These berries are said to contain highly toxic compounds that cause unpleasant symptoms and different side effects. Below are five main poisonous wild berries to avoid, but they differ from the shape, size, toxic compound, and consumption level:
Holly berries: these are tiny berries that contain saponin toxicity that causes nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps.
Mistletoe: also known as the Christmas plant it has a toxic compound called photoratoxin. It can cause stomach issues and can slow heartbeat, brain, kidney, and adrenal gland toxicity.
Jerusalem cherries: also known as the Christmas orange, this plant has yellow-red berries that contain toxic compounds called solanine that can cause gastrointestinal infections, stomach cramping, and irregular heartbeat.
Delicious Wild berries to consume
Delicious wild berries are rich in nutrients and can be enjoyed in a wide variety of ways. These delicious wild berries don’t contain any to toxic compounds, unlike poisonous wild berries. Different experts have researched them, and most of us know them with their bright catching delicious color. Below are delicious and safe berries that can be consumed:
Mulberries: they are said to be abundant in nature since they are found in the wild. Mulberries come in red, dark-purple, and white colors. They are juicy sweet, soft, and they are similar to a blackberry because of their fragileness, they are not usually supplied in stores.
Elderberries: these are mostly found in the Northern Hemisphere; they usually grow in bluish-black or purple color and are the most consumed type. These berries are cooked to inactivate a toxic compound called alkaloid that causes nausea if eaten while raw. When cooked, these berries make sweetened juice, jams, chutney, or wines. They are highly active in nutrients, which is particularly active in boosting immune health.
Cloudberries: these berries usually grow in cool places also in the Northern Hemisphere. They are yellow to range in color, and they are similar to what we call raspberry. They are safe to eat raw with their soft, juicy, and relatively tart. Their nutrients active is very high with powerful antioxidants that protect human cells from radical damages.
Chokeberries: they are grown in Eastern North America; they are sweet yet tart taste and can also be eaten raw they are made in the manufacturing of wines, jams, juices, and ice cream. They are high in vitamin K, as a nutrient which effective in bone health and proper blood clotting. Unlike cloudberries, they also have antioxidants such as phenolic acids, and they have the highest antioxidant capacities of all other fruits.
We also have Gooseberries, M, Salmonberry, Sasktoon berries, Muscadine, Buffaloberries, etc.
Now you notice the difference of blueberries. Some are sweet, tart, soft, and juicy, but there are other poisonous blueberries. They differ from their shape, size, a toxic compound, and consumption level. Besides being poisonous, they are other, which are delicious, taste good, and have highly active nutrients such as the Cloudberries, which is said to have the most potent antioxidants than other plants.
Final Thoughts
Overall, what I advise you is that when you happen to consume poisonous berries, the first thing you should do is to know the symptoms whether or not you have ingested those toxic wild berries. Secondly, as soon as you realize that you have eaten poisonous berries, immediately spit out and remove any portion left in your mouth.
Then visit a doctor for medication or even call poisonous control experts. Collect a piece of that toxic berry and keep it on yourself; when you leave the hospital, this will help the doctor understand the poison you have ingested. Feel free to share this post to help the community to avoid poisonous berries that look like blueberries.
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