Clueless star Alicia Silverstone has assured fans that she is “alive and well” after growing speculation that she ate a harmful plant during a visit to England.
The US actress had shared a video of herself on Instagram in which she bit into what appeared to be a small orange fruit that resembled a cherry tomato.
While Silverstone was unable to identify the plant, social media users began to speculate that the fruit was Solanum pseudocapsicum, commonly known as Jerusalem cherry, which the Royal Horticultural Society says is “harmful if consumed.”
“Alive and well! Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow,” the actress said on Instagram.
The 47-year-old had previously uploaded a video in which he said: “Okay, I discovered something that I don’t know what it is and I need your help.
“I just bit into it because I was on the street and we were discussing whether it was a tomato or not.
“It definitely isn’t, because look at these leaves.”
Then she showed the leaves and asked, “What the hell is that?”
Then the actress took another bite of the plant and showed the inside with seeds that were larger than those you would find inside a tomato of that size.
“I don’t think you should eat it, it’s almost like a pepper,” she said.
The Horticultural Trades Association’s 2022 guide to potentially harmful plants lists Jerusalem artichoke as harmful to humans and pets if consumed.
Silverstone is best known for her role as Cher in the 1999 film Clueless and has also appeared in Batman and Robin (1997) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004).
