In article ,
Christina Websell wrote:


To answer your question about yew berries (which got lost in the thread)
No, they are horribly poisonous to humans, some birds can eat them safely
but if I have a 2 gallon bucket full of yew berries I wouldn't be wanting
to make wine out of them, unless I was suicidal.

Curiously, that's not quite right. That IS true for the green seed,
which is very poisonous indeed. But the red flesh is only slightly
poisonous and small quantities will not hurt you.

Because of the risk of eating seeds by mistake, or crushing them and
then contaminating the flesh, as well as their slight toxicity, it
is very advisable not to use the flesh for food. Compost the lot.

Slight toxicity?
I understand that yew is very toxic, not slightly.
Perhaps I am wrong.

Please reread what I said. The red flesh (aril) is slightly toxic;
the rest of the plant (most definitely including the green seeds)
is extremely toxic.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.