Berries poisonous to birds?

[AshLee]

A Solanum capsicastrum plant has self-seeded in my garden:



This has prompted several questions in my mind.

Is this plant poisonous to birds? I can only find incomplete and vague answers on the Internet.

Also, are there any other berries that are potentially poisonous to birds?

If there are, I was wondering if/how birds learn to avoid them in the wild.

[AshLee]

Using one combination of search terms I read that this plant is "not attractive to wildlife". Maybe the birds know this one is not good to eat?

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by AshLee

Using one combination of search terms I read that this plant is "not attractive to wildlife". Maybe the birds know this one is not good to eat?

After reading this question I too was prompted to have a spin around the Internet - my conclusion is there's (surprise - not !) a whole lot of nonsense out there with a lot of 'bird' sites simply listing any plant that's recorded as toxic to humans. Here's one link though to someone who knows what they are writing about, on balance as long as the food isn't hidden in some mixture which diguises it, one can pretty much leave wild birds to make their own choices. The RSPB: Advice: If you have deadly nightshade in your garden, will it poison the birds?

CM

[AshLee]

Do you know, CM, I'm going to take a particular interest in this plant in my garden from now on! The birds, seeming to know a whole lot more than we do about this subject shall be left to make up their own minds. I will be interested in the results.

Thanks for the interesting info.

Ash

[aeshna5]

Did you already have S. capicastrum in your garden? If not it suggests it was bird sown. I've certainly had Blackbirds feeding on these fruits.

[Hedera]

Blackbirds also eat laurel berries and get a bit tipsy from them. Perhaps the toxic substance is in the seeds which pass through the bird and are shed before digestion? We were told never to eat plum kernels because they were poisonous, but the fruit is fine.

[AshLee]

Originally Posted by Hedera

Blackbirds also eat laurel berries and get a bit tipsy from them. Perhaps the toxic substance is in the seeds which pass through the bird and are shed before digestion? We were told never to eat plum kernels because they were poisonous, but the fruit is fine.

Interesting. I never knew that about the laurel. And I'm going to check that large quantities of almonds are OK to eat - I eat handfuls of the things and aren't they related

[thunder]

Originally Posted by AshLee

Interesting. I never knew that about the laurel. And I'm going to check that large quantities of almonds are OK to eat - I eat handfuls of the things and aren't they related

Yes, the fleshy bits of Cherry Laurel berries are fine - but the seeds do contain cyanide.

Almonds are fine, but if you get a bitter one, spit it out! Probably anything eaten to excess is bad for you - if you really eat handsful all the time, a quick word at your GP surgery should get you information on safe amounts.

henrya

[AshLee]

Originally Posted by thunder

Yes, the fleshy bits of Cherry Laurel berries are fine - but the seeds do contain cyanide.

Almonds are fine, but if you get a bitter one, spit it out! Probably anything eaten to excess is bad for you - if you really eat handsful all the time, a quick word at your GP surgery should get you information on safe amounts.

henrya

Hi thunder,

I looked up the toxicity of almonds (and their history) and it seems that the cultivated variety has a " genetic mutation (that) causes an absence of glycoside amygdalin". They have a fascinating history. For example, they are believed to have been cultivated since the Early Bronze Age (3000–2000 BC) in the Near East. They do not lend themselves to propagation from cuttings, but grow from seed, so "advanced" horticultural techniques were not necessary to ensure their success as a crop.

Bitter almonds are another story altogether

Ash

[AshLee]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Did you already have S. capicastrum in your garden? If not it suggests it was bird sown. I've certainly had Blackbirds feeding on these fruits.

Yes, I did, a couple of years ago. It was a self-seeded plant itself, given to me by a relative with the assurance that it would produce offspring of its own. I'd forgotten about this, and at the time I didn't really believe it. Lately I've been far more wildlife conscious, hence the concern Thanks for the reassurance