So Is It Poisonous?

 

1. Eastern Black Nightshade, Solanum ptycanthum (information)

The word "nightshade" is a loaded term that make most people think poisonous. Some may point out that many of our most common foods are in the nightshade family so not all of them are bad, but those uncultivated ones? Definitely bad, right? Maybe not.

When it comes to the nightshade family, the main concern is an alkaloid known as solanine, hence the genus name of Solanum. Like so many other plant chemicals, good and bad for us, it is primarily produced by the plants as protection from fungi and insects. Sometimes, like capsicum, it backfires and we eat it more, but other times, like solanine, it makes us sick.

From the journal article linked: "Solanine poisoning primarily manifests itself with gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Symptoms typically appear within the first 2-24 hours. If ingested in very high concentrations, symptoms may appear within 30 minutes. These symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, throat irritation, headache, dizziness, and irregular heart rhythms. In more severe cases, hallucinations, loss of consciousness, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, and hypothermia have been reported."

If the case isn't serious? You'll usually recover within 24 hours. But cases are rare, as most our commercial produce is store properly, and in any case, solanine imparts a bitter flavor, like so many other things bad for us, so most people don't eat enough to cause more than some mild GI distress.

All of which brings me to the question: are the ripe berries of Black Nightshade poisonous? Years ago, I read that no, they are not, you can eat them when they are ripe. Much like green potatoes, you shouldn't touch the green berries, but black and ripe? They're fine.

Or maybe they are not. Maybe they're so toxic you'll drop dead from them. It IS a nightshade after all, right? THE poison of poisons.

In reading another essay about them, it seems there's a high possibility of a mistranslation, not unheard of in the New World, and a mix-up of plant identifications. In addition, there are some reported livestock deaths and a human one from the green berries, but what about the ripe ones?

Once upon a time, an old friend told me she worried she'd find me dead one day on the trail. Which is to say, of course I tried it. I've wanted to for years and some popped up in my yard. Curiosity has gotten us so far in civilization so why stop now?

All that said, I do try to be smart about it, much like the linked essay. A nibble one day, a half berry the next day, a full berry two days later, and another full berry there. And you know what? I'm not dead, I didn't have any GI discomfort, and the berries were quite sweet without a single hint of bitterness.

Given they are the nightshade family, as are tomatoes, I likely should have guessed they'd taste similar, and they do. Small, slightly sweet tomatoes. For all the energy and research we put into trying to cultivate black tomatoes, why are we not putting it into nature's own? Why recreate the wheel?  

From one study I found, the conclusion is practically predictable: the dose makes the poison. Eaten in moderate amounts, the lab rats were fine, and in small amounts, absolutely fine. Higher amounts did seem linked to anemia down the road after a couple weeks, but truly, who is going to have 5-25% of their diet be these berries? But even the higher dose rats didn't experience any distress for weeks.

So I'll keep slowly snacking on them, looking into the research, and experiment with them. I've tossed a few fruits from the random spot this plant sprouted by my driveway into my native garden bed so I hopefully have another harvest next year. I may not be up to making a bruschetta yet as I weed out the bad information on this weed, but my curiosity about these fruits has only intensified.