UFOs
Unidentified Flowering Objects
This page was created to show some not edible plants I am asked about often or have been sent to me to identify in botanical alphabetical order.
| NOT EDIBLE: Argemone mexicana, the Mexican Poppy, can be yellow or white. Used extenisvely in herbal applications but not edible. Locally a very limited season, usually winter. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE. The Harlequin Glorybower, Clerodendrum Trichotomum, has a very showy calyx. A native of Asia, Clerodendrum means fate tree, referencing questionable medical uses, and trichotomum which means three trunks, which it apparently has often. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE: Crotalaria spectabilis, the rattlebox becasuse of the sound the seeds make in a dry pod. Quite toxic for man and beast. The entire genus is toxic, from little rabbitbells to the rattleboxes. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE. Cynanchum laeve is also called the Honeyvine. I receive a lot of emails from folks who want to know if this is edible milkweed vine. It is not. The sap can irritate and damage eyes and mucus membranes and if consumed can stop your heart. To read about the edible milk vine, click here. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE. Fatoua villosa, the mulberry weed, an import on nursery plants, was first noticed in Louisiana in 1964. It is controlled by mulching. It can cause mild itching. Also called the Hairy Crabweed. |  |
| Not Edible: Earth Smoke, or Ground Smoke, Fumaria officinalis. The native of Europe found in most of North America has many medicinal uses beyond the scope of this site. The flowers yield a yellow dye good for coloring wool. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE. Often confused with either a Commelina or a Tradescantia is the Gibasis geniculata, also called the Tahitian Bridal Veil though it is a native of Central America. To read about the Tradescantias click here. |
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| NOT EDIBLE: Ligustrum lucidum, the Wasy or Glossy Privet. While there are not human trials to support this In vitro studies have shown that the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum have antitumor, immunostimulatory, antioxidative, antiviral, antimutagenic, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic properties. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE. Lupina diffusus, endangered, also called Oak Ridge Lupine, Spreading Lupine, or Skyblue Lupine, grows in drya areas. |
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| NOT EDIBLE: Annual Jewgrass, or Microstegium vimineum. This is a a common ground cover locally usually found in shady areas. Originally from Asia it is found throughout the south. Folks are always wondering what it is. Now you know. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE: Phoradendron serotinum, Mistletoe. While Mistletoe has been used in some herbal medications it is generally considered toxic. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE. Butterweed, Senecio glabellus, can from a distance resemble wild mustard or wild radish. On close inspection it does not look like them. The blossoms are not a yellow cross and the leaves are not sandpappery. It is also laced with pyrrolizidine which is an alkoloid that can damage your liver. To read more click here. |  |
| NOT EDIBLE: Solanum viarum, Solanum ciliatum, Solanum carolinense, all called Tropical Soda Apple or Horse Nettle, the first two turn red when ripe, the latter yellow. They usually start out with mottle green fruit. Some are toxic when green, others more toxic when ripe. Edibility is doubtful, botantical references vague, identification difficult. Best avoided. Of the three ripe S. ciliatum, now called Solanum capsicoides, might not kill you. |
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I have not seen any of these except the horse nettle, but we do have lots of the french mulberry growing around here that looks similar to the Fatoua villosa
French mulberry… you mean Callicarpa americana?
Yes… I didn’t know it’s name and just found s but some pictures matching the shrub and found out some call it american beauty berry… It is pretty rampant in the sandy land where I am from, both in the sands of marengo county and the sandy-loamy dirt of dallas county… I have eaten the berries… only 10 or so at a time right off the bush… not much taste to me but a nice treat in small quantities… wouldn’t want to have to live on ‘em… some even have it growing in their yard as an ornamental type bush… not sure if that was on purpose or it just came up and they decided to keep it..
oh… and of course, plenty of mistletoe… i received several kisses over the years under mistletoe shot down with a 12 ga shotgun around the holidays
and I absoutely despise privet… it takes over the understories around here… not letting other natural plants grow… i wish it were eradicated as i have been trying to talk my mother into destroying two of hers planted as an ornamental for years… a few seeds already made it to the treeline .. uggg
Hello,
I am truly enjoying reading through your website. Remarkable work!
One question however: I have found listed here many plants as edible that I have never yet seen listed on other reference websites or books (Myosotis sylvatica for one) and some warnings (Hemerocallis/daylilies-thanks for that by-the-way) that I had never encountered. Being that I am keenly interested in landscaping with edible plants as much as possible, I am left a little confused…
Many thanks for all your works!
Thanks for writing. I don’t use websites for information, except for journals that are posted on line or sites hosted by quality organizations.
Great website, as learning about edible wild foods is something I am keen on…you have a depth of botanical knowledge which is rare these does amongst us mere mortals .Just wanted to ask if you are selling a book about your wild food discoveries and such things, I know that a website is great because it can be frequently updated with info, but books are also gooder!
Cheers and Thanks 4 the site, Dave
Brazilian Pepper: I have seen Brazilian Pepper (Shinus terebinthefolia) listed as an ingredient in a dry pepper seasoning mix. When I taste-tested 3-4 berries and spit them out, I later noticed a dime-sized chemical burn on the tip of my “taster” which lasted for several days. Proceed with caution!
Yellow Poplar: (Liriodendron tulipifera) was planted out of range in my NSB front yard several years ago (maybe 20). After last winter’s hard cold I noticed that it bloomed for the first time in the Spring and again in the late fall! Strange! (This tree is going to be entered my BudBurst records this year.)