SEARCH
MENU
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
Creative & Frugal Home & Garden Ideas

Empress of Dirt

  • Grow
  • Make
  • Ideas

New here?

Dig in!

Start here

7 Popular Plants with Poisonous Berries

February 17, 2016 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

This post contains affiliate links.
Click here for the full disclosure statement.

TwitterFacebookPinterestEmail

Poisonous berries are quite common in gardens. Find out which plants including bushes and vines have toxic berries. Some people are surprised to learn that not all poisonous berries are red! Photos are included for easy identification.

This is an excerpt from the book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest. It is a handy guide for finding and identifying the most common wild berries of North America. For edible berries, see How to transplant raspberries and How to grow strawberries.

Poisonous berries are quite common in gardens. Find out which plants including bushes and vines have toxic berries. Some people are surprised to learn that not all poisonous berries are red! Photos are included for easy identification.

This excerpt from Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest is used with permission from the publisher.


Learn to Identify Berries

How to Forage Safely

If you’re into hiking, camping, or gardening, you probably notice berries at various times of year and wonder if they are actually edible (and safe) or poisonous and to be avoided.

With so much interest in foraging for food these days, a guide book like this one is really helpful for making safe (and delicious) choices.

While the idea of foraging may seem like a natural right, it does come with responsibility. Bottom line, be sure it is legal and ethical wherever it takes place. And, get to know plants and berries so any choices are safe.

Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest. Finding and indentifying the most common wild berries in North America. Who's edible, who's toxic, and how to tell the difference.

Good Berry Bad Berry | Amazon

Good Berry Bad Berry lists plants in 3 main categories

1. Bad berries (deadly and toxic)
2. Good berries Bad Idea (not toxic but horrible tasting)
3. Good berries (edible)

The book also has some recipes using aronias, beautyberries, mulberries, and gojis.

The format is very handy: it’s just 6×7″ and easy to include in your pack on a hike.


Here’s a sample page from the book showing the key information for each berry:

Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest. Finding and indentifying the most common wild berries in North America. Who's edible, who's toxic, and how to tell the difference.


7 Popular Garden Plants with Poisonous Berries

Many plants have medicinal qualities which can be toxic to humans or pets and many of them grow in our gardens without ever causing a problem. You have to decide for yourself whether they may actually pose a problem for you or your beloveds.

Nature’s built-in warning system is that harmful plants and berries have repulsive tastes. I’m not sure if there’s exceptions to this, but overall, if it takes like poison, it is.

Some plants have poisonous berries that are only harmful when impossibly large amounts are ingested. Others, like Virginia creeper, are much more damaging even in small doses and can be fatal if eaten.

Here’s some common plants with poisonous berries.

1Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

The flowers, fruits, and seeds are poisonous to humans, cats, and dogs if ingested.

This vine is invasive in parts of North America.

Oriental Bittersweet berries | Did you know some popular and common garden plants produce poisonous berries. While some are midly toxic, others can be fatal if ingested. Find out which ones you should look out for! These berries are featured in the new book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest.
Oriental Bittersweet [image credit: iStock]


2Common Honeysuckle (Lonicera poericlymenum)

Berries are poisonous if ingested.

Honeysuckle berries |Did you know some popular and common garden plants produce poisonous berries. While some are midly toxic, others can be fatal if ingested. Find out which ones you should look out for! These berries are featured in the new book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest.
Common Honeysuckle [image credit: iStock]


3Pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana)

Berries, seeds, and root are poisonous if ingested raw.

Pokeweed berries | Did you know some popular and common garden plants produce poisonous berries. While some are midly toxic, others can be fatal if ingested. Find out which ones you should look out for! These berries are featured in the new book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest.
okeweed [image credit: Bill Johnson]

4Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)

Berries are poisonous. Would require large quantities to be toxic. No reported cases.

Solomon's Seal berries | Did you know some popular and common garden plants produce poisonous berries. While some are midly toxic, others can be fatal if ingested. Find out which ones you should look out for! These berries are featured in the new book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest.
Solomon’s Seal [image credit: Bill Johnson]

5Spotted Laurel (Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’)

Berries are poisonous if ingested.

Spotted laurel berries | Did you know some popular and common garden plants produce poisonous berries. While some are midly toxic, others can be fatal if ingested. Find out which ones you should look out for! These berries are featured in the new book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest.
Spotted Laurel [image credit: iStock]


6Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

Berries are poisonous. Highly toxic. May be fatal if eaten.

Virginia creeper berries | Did you know some popular and common garden plants produce poisonous berries. While some are midly toxic, others can be fatal if ingested. Find out which ones you should look out for! These berries are featured in the new book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest.
Virginia Creeper [image credit: Holly Rosborough]

7 Winterberry Holly (Llex verticillata)

Berries are poisonous if ingested.

Winterberry holly berries | Did you know some popular and common garden plants produce poisonous berries. While some are midly toxic, others can be fatal if ingested. Find out which ones you should look out for! These berries are featured in the new book, Good Berry Bad Berry by Helen Yoest.
Winterberry Holly [image credit: Helen Yoest]

There’s lots more information in the book, covering 40 common wild berries in North America.

The layout of the book makes it really easy to find the information you want.

Garden safely and enjoy!

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Next

10 Best 2019 Garden Books | Giveaway
Beginner Watercolor Painting with Painterly Days
DIY Succulent Wall Planter
Load More
Poisonous berries are quite common in gardens. Find out which plants including bushes and vines have toxic berries. Some people are surprised to learn that not all poisonous berries are red! Photos are included for easy identification.
TwitterFacebookPinterestEmail

FREE NEWSLETTER

EVERY TWO WEEKS

Creative, frugal home and (mostly) garden ideas in your inbox!



Privacy Policy



Listen to Our Garden Podcast

SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST HERE

Melissa J. Will - Empress of DirtWelcome!
I’m Melissa J. Will
a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt
(Ontario, Canada).
Join me as I share creative + frugal home & garden ideas with a dash of humor.
More: Contact/About
New here? Dig in!  |  Our Podcast

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Some articles on this site contain affiliate links to Amazon, Etsy, Earthhero, and more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Affiliate and Ad Disclosure | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Empress of Dirt Creative + Frugal Home & Garden Ideas

Hello. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic.I Accept Read Privacy Notice
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.