Help identifying fruit please

[wilsonamw]

Hello

I’m wondering if someone can please help me to identify the following fruits my son picked this weekend (see link below for photo). We know the blackberries are blackberries but any clues about the plum looking fruits? Are the small navy looking ones sloes? Are all edible?

Many thanks in advance for your expert advice!

https://ibb.co/6gpd7Y0

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome.
It would help if you told us where they had been picked - like garden, hedgerow, woodland - and whether you're in the UK or not!

There are lots of different wild "plums" - sloes, bullaces, damsons and plums. Most of the "wild" ones have vicious thorns.

I don't like the look of the small red/green berries top left but need to see the leaves to help identify them.

[Martin H]

I agree with VC about the ones top left, they look suspiciously like Woody Nightshade which is definitely not edible.

The others do look plummy to me, but an expert will probably be along shortly.

[SarrissUK]

The green/red berries in the top left are from a plant/weed that will worm its way into my greenhouse every year. It even looks poisonous. I've ripped one of them out just today, with all their berries. They are beautiful though, I think, but don't eat them. They have quite an offputting smell when you touch the plants, and its 'skin' comes off in your hands when you try and pull them.

My plant app says that the black berries on the left are mahaleb cherries, or italian buckthorn, and out of the two, the leaves look most like mahaleb cherries.

And the app says that the top right blue berries are most likely Blackthorn.

I have experience of none of the blue berries, so this is going by the app alone.

[nickdub]

damson top right, wild plum next, blackberry as mentioned, bryony (poisonous) top left - bottom left, not sure might be a plum type cut one open and see if it has a stone or something-else would be my suggestion

[veggiechicken]

The green/red berries in the top left are from a plant/weed that will worm its way into my greenhouse every year. It even looks poisonous. I've ripped one of them out just today, with all their berries. They are beautiful though, I b cherries.

And the app says that the top right blue berries are most likely Blackthorn.

I have experience of none of the blue berries, so this is going by the app alone.

What countries does your Plant app cover, Sarriss? Mahaleb cherries don't seem to be UK natives.
If I was a betting person, I'd put money on the smaller, blue-black fruits on the left would be sloe/blackthorn

[Scarlet]

I think top right are sloes? - maybe a size issue here cos everyone thinks differently-but before you taste anything you need to check the whole plant!

I think bottom left is black nightshade - not to be eaten. They look tiny?
https://www.juliasedibleweeds.com/ge...ck-nightshade/
...the red ones maybe too? But could also be what Nick has suggested? You need the whole plant - leaf, stem, size of fruit etc to tell what it is.

[ameno]

Bottom left - definitely sloes (the bloom has just rubbed off, so they don't look as blue anymore)
Middle - blackberries, obviously
Middle-right - some sort of wild plum, possibly a tree that grew from a discarded stone
Top right - damsons, most probably, or else some other sort of wild plum

Top left - definitely bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara; the above mentioned woody nightshade is another name for the same plant). Poisonous (as, indeed, are all native nightshades). Do not eat.

As a general rule, any berries you see growing wild in this country on a herbaceous plant or vine are usually toxic (wild strawberries are about the only exception).
Most fruit growing on shrubs or trees are edible (although some need cooking first), but there are some notable exceptions, so it's still best to get a positive ID first.

[Nicos]

MOD note....

**Please be aware that these are only our individual guesses at IDs and that YOU are responsible for correctly IDing anything from the wild before consuming it**

We don't want anyone being accidentally poisoned

[SarrissUK]

Yeah I'd be very weary with trying things if you're not absolutely sure what they are.

Ameno, you're absolutely right - Solanum dulcamara is what is quite persistent in my back garden, but not a particularly fast grower and that is it in the picture.

VC, no idea what countries my app covers and I suppose there will be quite big differences across the globe in what plants are 'normally' growing there. Sometimes it requires several pictures of a plant to identify what they are, that can be confirmed elsewhere.

[veggiechicken]

The OP hasn't been back since their original post - hope they've haven't been snacking on the berries!!

[wilsonamw]

Hi everyone

Thank you so much for your excellent feedback. To answer an earlier question, yes, they were all picked in the UK in August. I will steer clear of the top left ones given the consensus that they are from a weed but the others sounds like they would be safe to eat...much to my son’s delight

Thanks again for your help everyone!

[veggiechicken]

We didn't actually say they would be "safe" to eat - that's up to you to decide. You need to see leaves, flowers and the plant itself before being sure - and then its not 100% from photos.

For the record, sloe berries are disgusting to eat raw and dry your mouth.

[wilsonamw]

We didn't actually say they would be "safe" to eat - that's up to you to decide. You need to see leaves, flowers and the plant itself before being sure - and then its not 100% from photos.

For the record, sloe berries are disgusting to eat raw and dry your mouth.

Thanks veggiechicken. I did edit my post but it posted my old one...just wanted to clarify that we would never consume anything until we are 100% sure but this has been a great learning exercise for my son.

Thanks again all!