The Importance of Knowing Your Poisonous Plants

Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)

Foxglove, bluebell, water dropwort, hemlock, yew, daffodil, deadly nightshade, monkshood, lords and ladies, dog's mercury. Would you know how to identify them?

You may be thinking, why are you telling me it's important to identify poisonous plants on a wild food blog? And I can tell you it's probably better for you to spend more time studying these plants than it is to spend studying edibles.

There are very few plants that will actually kill you should you nibble on them, you have to eat a whole load of most 'toxic' plants in order for them to have a lethal effect. That being said, I am not saying you should go out and nibble on any old plants to test this theory.

I don't deal with wild mushrooms as this requires a lifetime of knowledge, spore kits etc. and the only mushroom I would comfortably pick would be a common puffball. It's normally mushroom pickers that we tend to hear about getting themselves into hot water when out foraging. We've all heard the story of some keen forager going out and eating what they thought was an edible mushroom and ending up on a kidney dialysis machine or dead. My Father often jokes, "How can you spot a wild mushroom expert?", "They're still alive". But toxic plants can be just as dangerous.

It's just as important to know your poisonous plants, there may come a time when you are unsure whether you have found the right edible plant that you have been researching and what's gonna make it a whole lot easier? Knowing that it isn't a deadly one.

There's a rule with foraging something new for the first time, use your senses. If it smells awfully chemical/unpalatable then chances are it isn't worth the risk at all. The second is a skin test, rub a crushed leaf onto a small patch of skin and wait 24 hours to see if there's a reaction. If there is no reaction, rub the same plant onto your lip and wait another 24 hours. If still no reaction, chew a small part of the plant and spit it out, wait another 24 hours. Again if there is still no reaction, chew and swallow a small amount of the plant. 

This should be pretty instinctive but it's still important to know your poisons.

For example, you really wouldn't want to be rubbing phototoxic giant hogweed onto your skin. You will end up in a lot of pain and potentially disfigured and/or in hospital.

It's also important to note that hemlock is the most poisonous plant species in the UK.

Yew berries look appetising, especially to young children but as little as 3 berries, undigested is enough to poison.

Some plants smell wonderfully of almond, such as laurel. The fumes of a laurel cutting inside a hot car is enough to make a fully grown adult pass out!

Did you know that near enough all ferns are carcinogenic? And Bracken can poison water supplies leading to higher rates of cancers in these areas?

So what's the best way to avoid these horrific eventualities? Do your research. Don't ignore the section on poisonous plants in your foraging book or guide.

(Image credit: https://www.naturespot.org.uk/)