The message
from Dave Poole contains these words:

Rusty wrote:

Does anyone know if the berries are edible? I tried a couple yesterday
with no ill-effect, and they taste rather pleasant with a nuance of
caramel.

Well they (berries of Leycesteria formosa) are edible, although I
didn't find them palatable in the slightest. Maybe I sampled them too
early when they looked ripe, but weren't (did the same once with
grapes of Vitis vinifera 'purpurea' and got a nasty shock!). The
Leycesteria berries gave me a strong shot of pepper and a rather acrid
after-taste that deterred me from repeating the experience. If I go
walkabout later, I might give them one more shot - Leycesteria is
naturalised here, often growing in walls and rubbly places where only
conventional weeds seem to prefer.

I tried a couple which were almost black, and soft and squishy like a
thin blister. There was no unpleasant (unpheasant?) taste at all -
indeed, I found them rather more-ish.

Thanks for the guarded go-ahead: I shall pig out on the dozen or so
berries I've picked. (lots more coming on though.)

To that end, I consider it to be a weed and am surprised to see it
offered at nearly 5 quid a shot in the local garden centres. As a
'weed' it is probably reasonable pleasant to look at (note - I can't
quite bring myself to describe it as 'attractive' ), but I would
never buy it - its just too erm ... dull.

Yes. My neighbour has one, so as a result, do I. The seedlings looked a
little like lobelia, amongst which they appeared, and I put them in a
planter. They soon began to grow in a rather un-lobelialike manner and I
now have a four-foot bushy thing under restraint.

--
Rusty
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