Re: [CH] Variable pungency chilis; inedible/poisonous fruits
Michael Bailes (frgntgar@ozemail.com.au)
Fri, 13 Nov 1998 19:45:54 +1100
.
> On poisonous fruits: as several have mentioned, ALL capsicums are
>edib
>le, though some may not be as tasty as others. However there's at least one
>ornamental plant---a nightshade [solanaceae] variety---that IS poisonous. It
>looks a bit like a chile [capsicums are members of the nightshade family] and
>is often sold in pots, sometimes as a 'Christmas' or 'Jerusalem' pepper. The
>fruits are marble-size [10-12 mm diameter], perfectly round, and are usually
>orange-red as they ripen. The foliage is darker green than that of most chili
>plants. If you pop a fruit between your fingers the smell tells you [or tells
>me, anyway!] that it's not a pepper: it has a 'green', tomatoe-y odor. Also,
>the fruit is 'juicy'---the seeds are surrounded by a watery pulp whereas chili
>seeds are not. I've not seen any of these recently except in specialty plant
>catalogs. But it should be watched for.
> Gene Dunnam
> Gator Slide Farm
> Micanopy, FL
Sounds like black nightshade??
A weed here.
The ripe berries are edible
The green berries are not (Same as green on spuds I think)
oops Spuds = Oz for potatoes
Michael Bailes.
Herbarist
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