The poisonous berries are out. The Red-berried Elder is full of beautiful bright red upright berries. Let the birds eat them!
Here is the entire tree/shrub.
As you can see it is a real pretty plant. My baby brother has an abundance of these plants down at the lake. Birds probably ate the berries and deposited seeds in the area.
He has another bunch of plants down there that are questionable...I think it may be very poisonous...but I have to do some more research. Last year with the construction the plant was not there. Now it is blooming like crazy. Very pretty too but then most poisonous plants are good looking.
Be aware of what is on your property that may be harmful to children. Poison Ivy, Stinging Nettles...are just the beginning of a long list.
Far Side
Nettles are not as bad as that darned parsnip! But then again I try to make sure that anyone who visits is never around those plants. Hard to avoid when hiking though. If more people dug the parsnip root in the spring and fall and ate them, there would be less of them! I take young nettles and make tea.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen these elderberries before! We have white ones here.
I hadn't heard of this plant either. I don't think we have it here. Should research it.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that something so pretty can be so bad? I have a weed that produces beautiful little violet like flowers but is over-running my lawn and killing everything in it's path. Even regular weed killer doesn't stop it.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beauty! Would they be bad if you used them for dyeing yarn or material?
ReplyDeleteI see that plant around but didn't know it is poisonous. I always wonder about such pretty red berries but leave them alone. :-)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this plant. I'll have to look it up on the Internet. Wonder if it lives in our area.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it is very pretty. I don't know my plants in the wild so I never eat anything from any wild plant. To afraid.
ReplyDeletePretty. I never know what is poisonous so never eat anything wild. :)
ReplyDeletePoison things are often so pretty! The vines of poison ivy on my trees are just gorgeous in the fall.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty. I have to assume it is poisonous to humans but not to birds.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell one poisonous *anything* from another, outside. So I don't put anything in my mouth that I've picked outside.... unless it's a no-brainer safe thing like an apple, peach, tomato, etc. No wild foraging for me. :-) Love, Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeletePretty bush. I always heard if the birds won't eat the berries then it is probably poisonous. Don't know if that is true or not.
ReplyDeleteYou are smart to know so much about many plants. I know very little about such things so I would not eat anything unknown but I do worry about children and also pets.
ReplyDeleteRed-berried Elder is sure pretty. I'd bring some branches in if I saw any but they probably don't stay nice in a vase. Oldest son once fell into an area of stinging nettle. That was no fun at all.
ReplyDeleteCan we get in to how to keep chiggers from biting me?
ReplyDeleteRed elderberries are safe to eat, I believe, but they probably don't taste all that great. Elderberry wine is a thing, so I hear. Or maybe you have a different species than we do.
ReplyDeleteI remember when my parents moved to house they are in now back in 1980 there was a strange plant near the gate with bright small red berries that he was worried about so dad ripped it out, just to be on the safe side
ReplyDeleteI'm always afraid to eat berries that I don't recognize. That's probably good. There are huckleberries here in the mountains if you can get them before the bears do. A gallon of huckleberries goes for around $75! I went picking with friends once but we had to hike so far up the mountain to get them that I was exhausted by the time we started picking. The bears had already stripped the ones closer to the bottom. I was also terrified of every sound because I was sure it was a bear. They like huckleberries almost more than people!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
How pretty.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful plant, poison or not. Thanks for the pix.
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty even if they’re not edible.
ReplyDeleteHad no idea the poisonous ones can be so good looking. Thankfully, we don't have to fuss with poison ivy around here, but we do have that annoying stinging nettle. Well, guess no one can have it all perfect.
ReplyDelete