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Old 06-05-2011, 04:29 PM
echinosum echinosum is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Feb 2006
Location: Chalfont St Giles
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Quote:
Originally Posted by georgebunter View Post
Strange question, and perhaps in the wrong place, but I work in a hospital where sometimes people eat things they shouldn't. Should this plant be removed? There is some concern it looks a bit like deadly nightshade!

http://i54.tinypic.com/w7ena8.jpg
It looks nothing like deadly nightshade. Deadly nightshade leaves don't have indentations, and deadly nightshade berries sit in a 5-pointed leafy cup. Atropa belladonna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is mahonia, which is edible, though not always palatable unless sufficiently ripe and juicy.

Gardens are typically full of poisonous plants, but we don't go around pulling them out, unless we identify some specific garden user likely to be tempted to eat that specific plant.