Hi

I'm new here, and I hope I can ask about the identity of 4 plants I've
found in garden, which might well turn out to be quite handy to keep,
depending what they are. Basically I'm looking for food bearing
species.

pointy red berries, which I suspect are toxic:
http://tinypic.com/r/29g2693/7

red berries with a roughish end, about quarter inch across - they
ripen red
http://tinypic.com/r/i3e2zb/7

tree with winged seed:
http://tinypic.com/r/1j9u1t/7

I suspect these may be some sort of gage, they have the crease on one
side only. I dont yet know what colour they ripen to. The small trees
are covered with them, not in bunches. Theyre about 3/4 - 1" long:
http://tinypic.com/r/4htf7b/7

thank you!


NT

On Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:44:48 -0700 (PDT), NT
wrote:

Hi

I'm new here, and I hope I can ask about the identity of 4 plants I've
found in garden, which might well turn out to be quite handy to keep,
depending what they are. Basically I'm looking for food bearing
species.

First things first: don't use sites with sex ads thrown in -- not to
be trusted.

pointy red berries, which I suspect are toxic:
http://tinypic.com/r/29g2693/7

Bittersweet, or Woody Nightshade. Solanum dulcamara. Toxic.

red berries with a roughish end, about quarter inch across - they
ripen red
http://tinypic.com/r/i3e2zb/7

The haws which give hawthorn its name. Not much to eat on them, as the
seed is relatively big, and the flesh is tasteless. I don't think
they're toxic, buit I did once read a suggestion that they were
suspect.

tree with winged seed:
http://tinypic.com/r/1j9u1t/7

One of the maples, I think. I found no evidence of toxicity, but I've
never heard of their seeds being eaten.

I suspect these may be some sort of gage, they have the crease on one
side only. I dont yet know what colour they ripen to. The small trees
are covered with them, not in bunches. Theyre about 3/4 - 1" long:
http://tinypic.com/r/4htf7b/7

Sloes, I suspect -- the fruit of the blackthorn. Good for sloe gin and
a sort of ketchup my mother sometimes made. Even when fully ripe, and
nearly black, very sour and bitter: I always eat a few every year for
the fun of it, but that's just me. May be another wild or naturalized
relative of the plum, though.

--
Mike.

On 07/26/2011 11:54 PM, Mike Lyle wrote:
tree with winged seed:
http://tinypic.com/r/1j9u1t/7
One of the maples, I think. I found no evidence of toxicity, but I've
never heard of their seeds being eaten.


Yes it does look like a sycamore, although real ID is difficult when
it's wilted. Sycamore is the logical choice, though those are some
pretty anemic samaras (winged fruit).

Actually they can be eaten if you're starving, IIRC you beat them into a
pulp and wash many times to remove the bitterness, then make a paste out
of what's left. Yum!

-E

On Jul 26, 10:54*pm, Mike Lyle wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:44:48 -0700 (PDT), NT
wrote:

Hi

I'm new here, and I hope I can ask about the identity of 4 plants I've
found in garden, which might well turn out to be quite handy to keep,
depending what they are. Basically I'm looking for food bearing
species.

First things first: don't use sites with sex ads thrown in -- not to
be trusted.

I didnt realise - can you recommend anywhere better than tinypic?


pointy red berries, which I suspect are toxic:
http://tinypic.com/r/29g2693/7

Bittersweet, or Woody Nightshade. Solanum dulcamara. Toxic.



red berries with a roughish end, about quarter inch across - they
ripen red
http://tinypic.com/r/i3e2zb/7

The haws which give hawthorn its name. Not much to eat on them, as the
seed is relatively big, and the flesh is tasteless. I don't think
they're toxic, buit I did once read a suggestion that they were
suspect.



tree with winged seed:
http://tinypic.com/r/1j9u1t/7

One of the maples, I think. I found no evidence of toxicity, but I've
never heard of their seeds being eaten.



I suspect these may be some sort of gage, they have the crease on one
side only. I dont yet know what colour they ripen to. The small trees
are covered with them, not in bunches. Theyre about 3/4 - 1" long:
http://tinypic.com/r/4htf7b/7

Sloes, I suspect -- the fruit of the blackthorn. Good for sloe gin and
a sort of ketchup my mother sometimes made. Even when fully ripe, and
nearly black, very sour and bitter: I always eat a few every year for
the fun of it, but that's just me. May be another wild or naturalized
relative of the plum, though.

Right, I can taste one when its ripe. The big question I guess is can
I be sure theyre not anything toxic? If so I can just go on taste.

It'll be a shame if theyre not edible. If so, the only edibles will be
elderberry and blackberry, and elder isnt exactly nice to eat.

Thanks everyone.


NT

"NT" wrote in message
...
On Jul 26, 10:54 pm, Mike Lyle wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:44:48 -0700 (PDT), NT
wrote:

Hi

I'm new here, and I hope I can ask about the identity of 4 plants I've
found in garden, which might well turn out to be quite handy to keep,
depending what they are. Basically I'm looking for food bearing
species.

First things first: don't use sites with sex ads thrown in -- not to
be trusted.

I didnt realise - can you recommend anywhere better than tinypic?

.................................................. ....................................


I use myalbum

http://www.myalbum.com/Album=MUKLG34Q

Never had any trouble.

Mike


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................


























pointy red berries, which I suspect are toxic:
http://tinypic.com/r/29g2693/7

Bittersweet, or Woody Nightshade. Solanum dulcamara. Toxic.



red berries with a roughish end, about quarter inch across - they
ripen red
http://tinypic.com/r/i3e2zb/7

The haws which give hawthorn its name. Not much to eat on them, as the
seed is relatively big, and the flesh is tasteless. I don't think
they're toxic, buit I did once read a suggestion that they were
suspect.



tree with winged seed:
http://tinypic.com/r/1j9u1t/7

One of the maples, I think. I found no evidence of toxicity, but I've
never heard of their seeds being eaten.



I suspect these may be some sort of gage, they have the crease on one
side only. I dont yet know what colour they ripen to. The small trees
are covered with them, not in bunches. Theyre about 3/4 - 1" long:
http://tinypic.com/r/4htf7b/7

Sloes, I suspect -- the fruit of the blackthorn. Good for sloe gin and
a sort of ketchup my mother sometimes made. Even when fully ripe, and
nearly black, very sour and bitter: I always eat a few every year for
the fun of it, but that's just me. May be another wild or naturalized
relative of the plum, though.

Right, I can taste one when its ripe. The big question I guess is can
I be sure theyre not anything toxic? If so I can just go on taste.

It'll be a shame if theyre not edible. If so, the only edibles will be
elderberry and blackberry, and elder isnt exactly nice to eat.

Thanks everyone.


NT

Elderberries aren't bad if you mix them with apples.

Elderflowers are worth having, either as elderflower fritters or added into rhubarb. Then there's elderflower cordaial and elder flower wine, and of course eldeberry wine.

I can't think of a toxic berry 3/4 - 1in dia, which isn't to say there isn't one. But if you want a firmer id post pics of a branch and an individual leaf, and of the fruit cut in half.

Mike Lyle wrote:
Sloes, I suspect -- the fruit of the blackthorn.

Oh! There's my thing learnt for today. Never occurred to me that sloes and
blackthorn were the same plant. I know where the sloes appear, and I know
what blackthorn looks like in spring ... but I'd never actually put the 2
together. *smack*

On 26/07/2011 22:54, Mike Lyle wrote:
(snip)

Sloes, I suspect -- the fruit of the blackthorn. Good for sloe gin and
a sort of ketchup my mother sometimes made. Even when fully ripe, and
nearly black, very sour and bitter:

I would not describe sloes as either sour or bitter. I would say they
are tannic or astringent, and one of the worst fruits of this sort
(along with unripe persimmons) that you would ever wish to avoid
tasting! After trying one, it feels as though someone has tried to dry
your mouth out with a bucketful of silica gel.

--

Jeff

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:44:48 -0700 (PDT), NT
wrote:

Hi

I'm new here, and I hope I can ask about the identity of 4 plants I've
found in garden, which might well turn out to be quite handy to keep,
depending what they are. Basically I'm looking for food bearing
species.

First things first: don't use sites with sex ads thrown in -- not to
be trusted.

pointy red berries, which I suspect are toxic:
http://tinypic.com/r/29g2693/7

Bittersweet, or Woody Nightshade. Solanum dulcamara. Toxic.

red berries with a roughish end, about quarter inch across - they
ripen red
http://tinypic.com/r/i3e2zb/7

The haws which give hawthorn its name. Not much to eat on them, as the
seed is relatively big, and the flesh is tasteless. I don't think
they're toxic, buit I did once read a suggestion that they were
suspect.

They make really good wine, so they are probably safe.
I once found about how good the wine they made was when visiting a friend's
house. We were all self-sufficiency aspiring, goatkeeping people in a nice
local club in the 80's.
"Try our hawthorn wine" they said. So we did. It was nice, so they gave
me another glass, and then asked if I wanted to try another home made wine
they'd made from tea. I said, Ok as I felt fine and I was not driving.
That was very nice too. As was the next glass of hawthorn. Suddenly I was
really drunk.
My husband managed to drive us home. He'd had two glasses of the hawthorn
wine and realised "stop. NOW"
I doubt he would have passed the breath test.
So, hawthorn berries are not toxic. But they can give you a bad headache
the next day ;-)

Tina

Sacha wrote:
First things first: don't use sites with sex ads thrown in -- not to
be trusted.

No sex ads that I saw. Perhaps my browser is set to reject them. I
always thought Tinypic was pretty reliable. Part of Photobucket, I
believe.

I always use Tinypic and haven't had any complaints or seen sex ads,
either! If I've offended anyone inadvertently I apologise now!!

I got a photo of a rather chesty looking lady when I looked at the first
plant photo yesterday. It wasn't blatant, but it probably wasn't something
I wanted on my screen at work.

In message ,
writes
Sacha wrote:
First things first: don't use sites with sex ads thrown in -- not to
be trusted.

No sex ads that I saw. Perhaps my browser is set to reject them. I
always thought Tinypic was pretty reliable. Part of Photobucket, I
believe.

I always use Tinypic and haven't had any complaints or seen sex ads,
either! If I've offended anyone inadvertently I apologise now!!

I got a photo of a rather chesty looking lady when I looked at the first
plant photo yesterday. It wasn't blatant, but it probably wasn't something
I wanted on my screen at work.

Was it an ad, or was it another pic hosted on tinypic? They offer you
random pictures from your server ("Images You'll Also Enjoy")
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

writes

I got a photo of a rather chesty looking lady when I looked at the
first plant photo yesterday. It wasn't blatant, but it probably
wasn't something I wanted on my screen at work.

Was it an ad, or was it another pic hosted on tinypic? They offer you
random pictures from your server ("Images You'll Also Enjoy")

When I looked there was a banner ad with several small images, one of
which was of a woman in a bikini.

Frankly, I was a bit disappointed...

--
Chris

Agree with other ids. Depending on how much space you have, in order of usefulness I'd keep:

a) blackthorn for sloe gin (though you can usually gather enough from hedgerows so it's a luxury really) It also flowers early, before the leaves, which cheers one up in spring. But if you're limited for space, remove it in due course and replace with something else.

b) hawthorn - like the sloe, it's in the rose family, which are usually non-toxic. I'd be keeping it for the birds, which keep down pests and improve the health and crop bearing of your other plants. But again, if you're pushed for space, replace it by another fruit tree.

c) I'd keep the woody nightshade - the berries are so beautiful as they turn from green to yellow to red, with a sort of translucent glow. But totally non-useful for you, and toxic. (Once when I was ill as a young child and awaiting a doctor's visit, my mother warned me to remove the vase of woody nightshade from beside me bed, in case he got the wrong idea ;-) )

d) the sycamore will be nothing but trouble - get rid asap.

On Jul 27, 12:11*pm, kay wrote:
NT;931170 Wrote:

Hi

I'm new here, and I hope I can ask about the identity of 4 plants I've
found in garden, which might well turn out to be quite handy to keep,
depending what they are. Basically I'm looking for food bearing
species.

Agree with other ids. Depending on how much space you have, in order of
usefulness I'd keep:

a) blackthorn for sloe gin (though you can usually gather enough from
hedgerows so it's a luxury really) It also flowers early, before the
leaves, which cheers one up in spring. But if you're limited for space,
remove it in due course and replace with something else.

b) hawthorn - like the sloe, it's in the rose family, which are usually
non-toxic. I'd be keeping it for the birds, which keep down pests and
improve the health and crop bearing of your other plants. But again, if
you're pushed for space, replace it by another fruit tree.

c) I'd keep the woody nightshade - the berries are so beautiful as they
turn from green to yellow to red, with a sort of translucent glow. *But
totally non-useful for you, and toxic. (Once when I was ill as a young
child and awaiting a doctor's visit, my mother warned me to remove the
vase of woody nightshade from beside me bed, in case he got the wrong
idea ;-) *)

d) the sycamore will be nothing but trouble *- get rid asap.

Thanks to everyone.


NT

In message , Chris Hogg
writes
On Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:44:48 -0700 (PDT), NT
wrote:

Hi

I'm new here, and I hope I can ask about the identity of 4 plants I've
found in garden, which might well turn out to be quite handy to keep,
depending what they are. Basically I'm looking for food bearing
species.

pointy red berries, which I suspect are toxic:
http://tinypic.com/r/29g2693/7

red berries with a roughish end, about quarter inch across - they
ripen red
http://tinypic.com/r/i3e2zb/7

tree with winged seed:
http://tinypic.com/r/1j9u1t/7

I suspect these may be some sort of gage, they have the crease on one
side only. I dont yet know what colour they ripen to. The small trees
are covered with them, not in bunches. Theyre about 3/4 - 1" long:
http://tinypic.com/r/4htf7b/7

thank you!


NT

1. One of the Nightshade (solanum) family, possibly Bittersweet,
solanum dulcamara. Poisonous.

Yes. Bittersweet.

2. Hawthorn (crataegus monogyna), aka May or Quickthorn. Some people
put the leaves in salads.

3. Sycamore (acer pseudoplatanus). Some regard it as a weed tree it
seeds itself around so freely.

4. Probably an unripe sloe, the fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus
spinosa). Fruit will eventually ripen to a blue-black. Not poisonous,
but extremely bitter. You only ever bite into one; never a second!


--
Stewart Robert Hinsley