Edible or not? Alicia Silverstone's misstep shows how toxic lookalikes can fool you
CTV
Alicia Silverstone worried fans this week when she posted a TikTok clip of herself nibbling a poisonous berry she found along a sidewalk on a trip to England. The “Clueless” actor said she thought the fruit might have been a tomato, but realized it wasn’t after a couple bites revealed an off-tasting, peppery flavor.
Alicia Silverstone worried fans this week when she posted a TikTok clip of herself nibbling a poisonous berry she found along a sidewalk on a trip to England. The “Clueless” actor said she thought the fruit might have been a tomato, but realized it wasn’t after a couple bites revealed an off-tasting, peppery flavor.
That tomato lookalike seems to have been a Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum), which, along with actual tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, potatoes and tomatillos, is a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family. Although the fruits (and potato tuber) of those crops are safe to eat, their foliage can be toxic.
If you aren’t 100% sure that something is food, please don’t put it into your mouth.
All parts of Jerusalem cherry, which is sold as a houseplant, are poisonous not only to humans but also to dogs, cats and horses, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The plant’s unripe berries can be especially dangerous, causing central nervous system and gastrointestinal symptoms, including delirium, abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, paralysis and more.
Consuming large amounts can be fatal. Silverstone was lucky because, she says, she didn’t swallow the berries, and also perhaps because the berries were reddish-orange, which indicates they were ripe.
The poisonous Carolina horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) fruit also resembles tomatoes. Its common name, devil’s potato, is a dead giveaway.
Other members of the nightshade family are poisonous to varying degrees. The aptly named deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), for instance, is so toxic it was used as a murder weapon during the Middle Ages. Its berries, however, could be mistaken for blueberries. Pokeweed and Virginia creeper fruits also resemble blueberries, and both can be fatal if ingested.
