The Tracing Paper

Know your enemy
Poisonous Plants and Fungi:
An Illustrated Guide
by Cooper, Johnson, Dauncey

»Don’t miss The Tracing Paper’s Mushrooms without fear: 9 steps to avoid poisoning yourself

Plants and fungi can be dangerous. For all our very real concerns about healthy diets, chemical additives and pesticide residues, it’s wild, natural plants that have the potential to cause immediate harm and even death.

For anyone tempted by the delicious and healthy (if you’re careful) bounty of nature, the Stationery Office’s authoritative Poisonous Plants and Fungi: An Illustrated Guide is the single most important book to read.

Forager, beware!

Anthony Worrall Thompson’s recent confusion over henbane and fat hen amply illustrates just how crucial it is for anyone thinking of picking or using wild plants to know the poisonous as well as, indeed better than, the good to eat.

You’d have thought the word “bane”, hardly suggestive of good things, would have encouraged some reflection on the edibility of the plant. Not only did the chef fail to check just what he was advising, so did the editors and subs at Healthy and Organic Living, which published his risky recommendation. Responsibility is essential if harvesting wild plants is to be part of healthy living.

A quick check of Poisonous Plants and Fungi would have confirmed that henbane is:

a dangerously poisonous plant with an action similar to that of deadly nightshade

Fortunately it is “uncommon in this country”, but confusion and misguided experimentation has led people astray in the past:

A 20-year-old man who chewed four flowers to produce an intended pleasant sensation was found lying on a footpath; he became excitable and restless, with a rapid pulse and hot dry skin, and had difficulty in seeing and swallowing. He experienced hallucinations and behaved in a bizarre manner; recovery was complete in 48 hours.

At least this incident ended happily, though the book is full of less happy cautionary tales, providing ample warning to the careless forager. Woody nightshade, false morel, death cap, thorn apple and cherry laurel are just some of the plants that have killed people.

Toxic detail

Poisonous plants and fungi excels in the detail it provides on precise toxicity, likely symptoms of poisoning and known cases. It’s invaluable in informing the forager of the plants that must be avoided (with good photos too) but is also useful in clarifying just how toxic each plant is.

Googling for [poisonous honeysuckle], for example, might give the impression that it’s far too dangerous to grow within reach of children, who may well be tempted by its luscious looking berries. It’s reassuring to read that the berries are “harmless or of very low toxicity”.

Unexpected poisons

Many of the plants we think of as perfectly edible can also be poisonous if not properly prepared or if the wrong parts are eaten.

Elderberries are commonly made into superb cordials, jellies and more, but don’t be tempted to use them for uncooked juice. Eight members of a party that drank raw elder berry juice had to be airlifted to hospital in 1984 after developing severe symptons of poisoning.

Even fat hen (which Worrall Thompson intended to recommend) should be approached with caution. Like other plants of the beet family it contains high levels of oxalates and another substance that causes sensitivity to sunlight and survives boiling. Especially if eaten raw and in large quantities, there’s a danger subsequent exposure to sun causing blistering and ulcers. Personally, I’d err on the safe side and only eat modest amounts, well cooked.

The potential toxicity of potatoes is reasonably well known, but a surprising number of stomach upsets are probably caused by dodgy potatoes without the cause ever being suspected. The rule here is never to eat potatoes that have started to turn green or sprout (peeling and cutting out the bad bits isn’t good enough) and make sure children don’t eat the leaves, stalks or berries.

Be safe, know your enemy

The toxicity of some plants and mushrooms may seem alarming. It is!

However, the well-informed forager can feel confident in accurately identifying the berries, leaves and fungi that really are good to eat, and really good to eat. Wild hops, wild garlic, St George’s mushrooms, ceps, cherry plums, sloes, (cooked) fat hen and much, much more are all too good to miss.

Read this book, know what to avoid and enjoy the safely delectable fruits of the wild.

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