Any dangerous orange berries in Ontario?
July 8, 2011 5:04 PM Subscribe
ParanoidFilter: I chewed up a small orange berry in Ontario, Canada. It was very bitter and I still taste it about an hour later. Is there any chance it was dangerously poisonous?
I put a photo of the plant on my Flickr page: http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/sindark/5917089780/
I know, I know. It is stupid to eat plants you cannot definitively identify in advance.
I put a photo of the plant on my Flickr page: http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/sindark/5917089780/
I know, I know. It is stupid to eat plants you cannot definitively identify in advance.
I would call Ontario Poison Control, this is what they are there for
posted by furiousxgeorge at 5:12 PM on July 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by furiousxgeorge at 5:12 PM on July 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: The nurse at poison control said that she doesn't know if there are any poisonous orange berries in Ontario. She did say that unless I get violently ill, I am probably fine.
posted by sindark at 5:36 PM on July 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by sindark at 5:36 PM on July 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Yeah, while bittersweet is listed as a poison, I think adults would have to eat a fair bit to get very sick, let alone be in real trouble. Hope you recover well!
posted by ldthomps at 5:44 PM on July 8, 2011
posted by ldthomps at 5:44 PM on July 8, 2011
My vote is for Swamp Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera oblongifolia).
posted by jenny76 at 5:47 PM on July 8, 2011
posted by jenny76 at 5:47 PM on July 8, 2011
Response by poster: Tartarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) looks the most like the photo I have, and what I remember of the bush.
According to a Government of Canada information sheet: "Ingesting the berries has caused mild toxicity in children (Frohne and Pfander 1983)."
Link: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=120&p_type=all&p_sci=comm&p_x=pp
I barely consumed any. I tasted the smallest possible amount, avoided swallowing anything, and washed out my mouth promptly. It seems unlikely that I will suffer ill effects.
posted by sindark at 6:19 PM on July 8, 2011
According to a Government of Canada information sheet: "Ingesting the berries has caused mild toxicity in children (Frohne and Pfander 1983)."
Link: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=120&p_type=all&p_sci=comm&p_x=pp
I barely consumed any. I tasted the smallest possible amount, avoided swallowing anything, and washed out my mouth promptly. It seems unlikely that I will suffer ill effects.
posted by sindark at 6:19 PM on July 8, 2011
Response by poster: Regarding a related species (Lonicera xylosteum): "Experimental feeding of berries (dry weight at 25 g/kg of body weight) to rabbits caused diarrhea and lack of movement within 24 h Frohne and Pfander 1983)."
Also:
"Mice experimentally injected with berry extract (dry weight at 20-40 g/kg of body weight) experienced brief excitation, followed by drowsiness, abdominal spasms, and equilibrium and respiratory problems. Death sometimes followed in 10 min to several hours. A connection was made between saponin content and toxicity (Frohne and Pfander 1983)."
20-40 grams per kg of body weight is a lot! I would have to inject myself with between about 1500g and 3900g of berry extract to get the same dosage.
posted by sindark at 6:23 PM on July 8, 2011
Also:
"Mice experimentally injected with berry extract (dry weight at 20-40 g/kg of body weight) experienced brief excitation, followed by drowsiness, abdominal spasms, and equilibrium and respiratory problems. Death sometimes followed in 10 min to several hours. A connection was made between saponin content and toxicity (Frohne and Pfander 1983)."
20-40 grams per kg of body weight is a lot! I would have to inject myself with between about 1500g and 3900g of berry extract to get the same dosage.
posted by sindark at 6:23 PM on July 8, 2011
Best answer: I barely consumed any. I tasted the smallest possible amount, avoided swallowing anything, and washed out my mouth promptly
Canadian man here who was once a forest-traipsing, berry-eating young lad for whom the line quoted above describes the average summer weekday spent tasting all the things: you'll be fine. It's a bitter, chalky, astringent taste—which is precisely what the birds like, mind—and it'll stay in your mouth forever, but it'll do you no harm.
posted by tapesonthefloor at 9:37 PM on July 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Canadian man here who was once a forest-traipsing, berry-eating young lad for whom the line quoted above describes the average summer weekday spent tasting all the things: you'll be fine. It's a bitter, chalky, astringent taste—which is precisely what the birds like, mind—and it'll stay in your mouth forever, but it'll do you no harm.
posted by tapesonthefloor at 9:37 PM on July 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ghharr at 5:11 PM on July 8, 2011 [1 favorite]