No. Virginia creeper berries contain oxalate crystals, tiny microscopic crystals that poke the mouth and throat (irritation, redness), and cause nausea and vomiting, and if enough are eaten the throat can swell. Birds eat them though. Some people need to wear gloves when working around it because the sap in the leaves can cause a rash that spreads. I don't have any reaction working with them ungloved.
Lovely capture of those purple berries, makes me somewhat feeling nostalgic of Germany when I was a child. I wonder if it's the same tree they have there
I doubt it, these are native to the eastern US and Canada and spread to the west. They go dormant in winter, and grow very quickly, vining, and are hard to get rid of.
Can you eat them?
ReplyDeleteNo. Virginia creeper berries contain oxalate crystals, tiny microscopic crystals that poke the mouth and throat (irritation, redness), and cause nausea and vomiting, and if enough are eaten the throat can swell. Birds eat them though. Some people need to wear gloves when working around it because the sap in the leaves can cause a rash that spreads. I don't have any reaction working with them ungloved.
DeleteThere is something a little troubling about the look of those. I'm not sure what. They kind of look like claws.
ReplyDeleteHa! I guess they do! They make nice color in the fall.
DeleteThanks for the warning above! But beautiful colors in your captures:)
ReplyDeleteEmille
Thank you. Seeing the birds eat them is a bit misleading, as then it looks like they're fine, but not for us.
DeleteIt looks like men with their feet stuck in pots. :)
ReplyDeleteMy latest post:
https://craniumbolts.blogspot.com/2021/09/brief-visit-to-kaikondrahalli.html
I never thought of them that way, but you're right! Funny!
DeleteWe have these along our Vestal Rail Trail. Some nice shots of these berries.
ReplyDeleteThey must take over in the wild! Pretty though.
DeleteI love your cascades of stems and berries.
ReplyDeleteThey are very pretty this time of year. I tried to get rid of them when I first moved in, but gave up. I've learned to live with them!
DeleteLovely capture of those purple berries, makes me somewhat feeling nostalgic of Germany when I was a child. I wonder if it's the same tree they have there
ReplyDeleteI doubt it, these are native to the eastern US and Canada and spread to the west. They go dormant in winter, and grow very quickly, vining, and are hard to get rid of.
Delete