Topic: Poisonous berry question...

[Cuke]

I was tidying up the leaves that had fallen on my garlic at the weekend and realised that the tree that dropped them has also dropped a load of red berries onto the soil. Now, this may be a daft question but, I know those berries are poisonous so I'm wondering if it's safe to leave them to rot into the soil (or whatever they do) baring in mind the garlic growing merrily in that same soil...  ???

Not that I want to painstakingly pick up hundreds of berries, but I'm not too keen on death by poisoned garlic either...

[norfolklass]

what's the tree that's dropped the berries?

[Cuke]

ummm I have no idea... it's the other side of my garden wall but it over hangs a bit, hence the droppings...

I've never paid much attention to it before, but this is the first time I've grown veg there in the winter and it suddenly struck me that it may not be too sensible. Although we did eat veg grown there over the summer which I guess had been grown in the same soil that would have been covered in berries last winter...

[norfolklass]

I'm sure if you can take a pic of the tree and post it on here someone will be able to identify it for you, then you'll know exactly what you're dealing with.
it's never even occurred to me to worry about poisonous berries and seeds in the soil :-\

[Pumper]

Silly question, but if you don't know what tree it is, how do you know the berries are poisonous?
Is it just hearsay? Or have you been told definitely by some knowledgeable person?

On the other hand, unless you eat the berries themselves, I can't see there being any problem with them dropping into the soil.

[calendula]

yes they'll probably rot away but it depends on how pernickety you are - many vegetables we eat are from from plants that are poisonous, such as spuds, aubergines, tomatoes  8)

but a pic would be useful

[Cuke]

Well no, you're right I don't 'know' they're poisonous, I was just making the assumption that all little red berries from trees weren't good to eat...

I'm probably thinking about things too much, I mean you wouldn't drink miracle grow or whatever but you still eat veg after its been fed with it...

I shall take a pic tomorrow morning and post it to see if anyone can identify it... :)

[calendula]

I'm probably thinking about things too much, I mean you wouldn't drink miracle grow or whatever but you still eat veg after its been fed with it...

 :o :o :o

I wouldn't

[Pumper]

...
 I was just making the assumption that all little red berries from trees weren't good to eat...

Whatever you do, never EVER eat cherries   :P

[Cuke]

Whatever you do, never EVER eat cherries   :P

:P

[norfolklass]

and the red bit of the berries on yew is the only bit you can eat, everything else is really toxic

[Palustris]

Then of course there are hips and haws, both red and edible.

[Lauren S]

Cranberries too  :P

[Cuke]

lol thank you people... ;)

So, it was perhaps a bit pointless to ask the question not knowing what the berries were... But, just out of interest, IF they prove to be berries of the nasty type will leaving them on the soil do any harm to my crops (or more importantly me when I eat them!)?

Either way I'll get a pic to show what they are tomorrow.... ;)

[Eristic]

The trees most likely to be dropping red berries at the moment are hawthorn, pyracantha, rowan, sorbus or viburnum.

It's a good idea never to eat unidentified plants or fruits unless facing abject starvation, but the chances of being poisoned is small. Any fruit on the ground will simply get converted into compost and you are strongly advised not to eat the compost even if you are starving.

[Cuke]

I was wondering if it was Rowan too Eristic...

Anyway, for those who know about these kinds of things there is now a pic up on my blog that may be good enough for you to identifty it...

www.growingourown.co.uk

Thank you! :)

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

It looks like a Cotoneaster, something like Cotoneaster "Cornubia". Mind you I always get them mixed up with Pyracantha. Pyracantha have thorns and Cotoneasters don't. According to Wiki, you can make jam out of pyracantha berries, like with Rowan berries. Maybe it's the same for Cotoneaster. Yuk

[Cuke]

Well there are no thorns.... So perhaps it's a Cotoneaster...

Oh, something my pic doesn't show is the tree's (they're not bushes) are about 12 feet tall... don't know if that makes any difference...

[Palustris]

Looks like Cotoneaster to me too. The berries are not considered edible but neither are they poisonous. If they are anything like the ones which drop off our various types then the most danger you are in is from back ache from hoeing off the gillions of seedlings which appear.
As to a general answer to your concerns about toxicity. There are no (that I can find!) plants growing normally in Britain whose fruit remains toxic or adds poison to other plants when decomposing or decomposed. The toxins in the plants are broken down into harmless compounds as part of the decomposing process.
I can give you an example. Chokeberry. the seeds contain basically cyanide (before people jump on me that is not that accurate, but it is close enough for this example). The juice however is fine. Once the  fruit has been subjected to frost, the seeds lose  their bad qualities and the juice may be extracted and consumed. The berries are not edible, but are not a problem.
If you are ever in doubt about a plant then this site is wonderful for looking them up.
http://www.pfaf.org/database/index.php

[calendula]

looks like a skimmia to me, with its wonderful winter berries  :-\