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Associated Press

Alicia Silverstone worried fans this week when she posted a TikTok clip of herself nibbling a poisonous berry she found on a street on a trip to Britain.
The Clueless actress said she thought the fruit might have been a tomato, but realised it was not after a couple of bites revealed an off-tasting, peppery flavour.
That tomato lookalike seems to have been a Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum), which, along with actual tomatoes, aubergines, 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.
Wherever you are in the world, if you are not 100 per cent sure that something is food, please do not put it into your mouth.












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Jerusalem cherry concerns
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, and paralysis. Consuming large amounts can be fatal.
Silverstone was lucky because, she says, she did not swallow the berries, and also perhaps because the berries were reddish-orange, which indicates they were ripe.

Other toxic lookalikes
The poisonous Carolina horse-nettle (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.
Lilies, which are toxic, have an uncanny resemblance to edible onion and garlic grasses, especially when they first emerge.

Those edible wild onion and garlic grasses, which sprout in gardens and uncultivated areas in spring, have other toxic lookalikes, too, including death camas (Toxicoscordion nuttallii), a common cause of livestock poisoning that is dangerous for humans, too.
Sinister carrot and parsley lookalikes can also get you into trouble. Merely touching wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), which has carrot-type flowers and parsley-ish leaves, can cause photodermatitis, a blistering sun sensitivity that can last a year. And eating poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), which looks similar but is much larger, can lead to respiratory failure.
Creeping buttercup, an invasive, perennial weed that closely resembles flat-leaf parsley, can cause severe abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, irregular heartbeat and more. And the deadly Canadian moonseed (Menispermum canadense) can be confused with wild grape (Vitis spp.).
Because its taste is so bitter, however, you would probably spit it out, which is a good thing since ingestion can lead to convulsions and death.

Hong Kong toxic plants
Some of the plants described above, or plants closely related to them, may be found in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.
There are more than 100 toxic plants in Hong Kong, ranging from mildly toxic – with symptoms such as skin irritation, swelling, sores, itchiness, diarrhoea and nausea – to deadly.
The Hong Kong Hospital Authority has prepared an atlas of poisonous plants in the city that you can see here.
Who to call
In Hong Kong, call emergency number 999 if you or someone you know is having a bad reaction after swallowing what may have been a toxic plant by mistake.
In the United States, contact a poison control centre through www.poison.org or 1-800-222-1222.
Additional reporting by Staff reporter.
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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

If you are not sure that something is food, do not try to eat it – plenty of things are poisonous but resemble a non-toxic lookalike


When Alicia Silverstone found an unfamiliar fruit, she filmed herself biting into it to determine what it was. If you don’t know, don’t eat – as the actress discovered, it could be a poisonous lookalike.


Medicine

Healthy eating

Hollywood

Clueless star Alicia Silverstone goes viral for eating toxic fruit, but you don’t have to

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}If you are not sure that something is food, do not try to eat it – plenty of things are poisonous but resemble a non-toxic lookalike

Jerusalem cherry concerns

If you are not sure that something is food, do not try to eat it – plenty of things are poisonous but resemble a non-toxic lookalike