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This is a PSA: Don’t eat random berries you find in other people’s front yards. Alicia Silverstone, who was visiting London with her family, apparently walked past what looked like a cherry tomato plant in a (fenced!) front yard and took a bite of the colorful, berry-like fruit to settle a disagreement about what it was. Unable to agree, she took to TikTok to see if anyone could identify the plant, since they are clearly not cherry tomatoes (although, to be honest, it does look a lot like a cherry tomato on the outside).
TikTok did what it does best and quickly identified the snack as something that looks like… Solanum pseudocapsicum, also known as Jerusalem cherry. It’s in the nightshade family (like tomatoes) and is “mildly toxic,” according to Medline Plus.
In the comments to Silverstone’s original post, readers are both impressed and concerned. “Eating random stuff off bushes when you don’t know what it is is a level of fearlessness I can only aspire to,” one wrote. “Not very observant… not very restrained…” warned another. “She has no clue” jokes abound. Most agreed that eating plants you haven’t identified and picking plants from private property, poisonous or not, are basically no-nos.
It is unclear how much of the fruit Silverstone consumed, but according to Medline Plus, symptoms of poisoning are often delayed, showing up 8 to 10 hours after ingestion. Jerusalem artichoke poisoning can affect both the gastrointestinal system and the central nervous system, causing delirium and stomach pain, among other symptoms. This type of poisoning can be “very dangerous,” and it is recommended that people who eat Jerusalem artichokes, also known as winter cherries or Christmas cherries, call poison control immediately.
At the time of this writing, Alicia Silverstone has not yet informed the internet of her condition, but we wish her good health and leave people with this message from Medline: “DO NOT touch or eat any unfamiliar plants.”
Originally published on Glamour
