Wilderness survival - ID these berries

[kev]

Please ID these berries.

Location: East Texas

Date: October 25th, 2008

YouTube - Wilderness Survival Quiz - ID these...

[Jakester]

I cant remember the name I do know if you eat them you will not be well for long.

[swd]

that looks like firethorn. i had a girlfriend who's house had these, agave, holly, some kind of shrub with 1" thorns all over it, nettle and cactus all around. didnt want to make a wrong move or you'd get stuck.

[Straight Razor]

Not a fire thorn... its berries are not clustered around the stem, nor are they shiny. By the way, don't eat the seeds of the fire thorn. The pulp though makes good jelly.

[swd]

Originally Posted by Straight Razor

Not a fire thorn... its berries are not clustered around the stem, nor are they shiny. By the way, don't eat the seeds of the fire thorn. The pulp though makes good jelly.

OK, thanks. After a closer look, I didn't see any thorns either. I generally stay away from red or orange colored berries that have smooth skins -- not like a red raspberry or blackberry that have a bumpy skin. Of course sumac is ok, but not poison sumac! Berries can be tricky to say 'good or bad' if you don't know what you're looking at.
Good video.

[4giv3n1]

Looks like holly (yaupon holly).....if so, they are poisonous. They'll cause vomiting.

[Jakester]

That may be bittersweet ???? which is poison.

[azcfi]

Hmmm...Some look more ripe than others...prob not regular holly cause the leaves don't have angles and spikes on them - maybe some other type...I need to get one of those edible plants books and study it!

[kev]

Originally Posted by 4giv3n1

Looks like holly (yaupon holly).....if so, they are poisonous. They'll cause vomiting.

That is exactly what they are - Yaupon Holly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaupon_Holly

The latin name is Ilex vomitoria, can we guess why it has the name "vomit" in it??

Native Americans used the leaves and stems to brew a tea called asi or black drink for male-only purification and unity rituals. The ceremony included vomiting, and Europeans incorrectly believed that it was the drink itself that caused it (hence the Latin name). The active ingredient is actually caffeine, and the vomiting was either learned or as a result of the great quantities in which they drank the beverage.

[armymp76544]

My first instinct would be to leave them alone, as they are a smooth red berry and generally that is an indicator that they are poisonous. I would move on as there are plenty of other things to eat that you wouldn't have to worry about making you sick.

[Hodeman]

While you all are in flora identification mode...what the heck is this green plant in the attached photo. I havn't been able to identify it..but up here in Indiana its rather common in the woods. Never could find anybody who knew what its officially called though.

[huntfishsleep5]

although this post is very old i saw it on youtube and thought i would add another helpful tip:
apart from being a smooth red berry, the bush is covered in them! If those berries were edible they would be eaten by other animals in the wilderness. If you come across a plant that you are not sure if it is edible or not, if it isnt being eaten by other animals you probably shouldnt eat it either.

[Hefferman1]

I've always been told not to eat berries unless you know what they are.

It looked like Holly, and you said it was. I believe Holly is poisons.

You can always do the animal test and see it an animal, other than a bird can eat it.
You can also do the taste test. You take a small amount and touch it to your skin. If nothing happens in 15 minutes touch some to your tongue. If nothing happens in 15 minutes, try chewing some. If nothing happens in 15 minutes, try swallowing a little. If nothing happens then it is supposed to be OK.
However I will not eat anything that I do not know what it is. There are wild grains that stop the absorbtion of nutrients, and slowly poision someone. There was a guy in Alaska who ate them and slowly starved to death. He left a full journal on it. I can't remember what the name of the grass was.

So Caution First and Foremost.

[Amiel]

The guy your refering to was Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp. There was a movie made on his experiences called "Into the Wild" which ended in the way you described although it is thought that it may have just been simple rabbit starvation. If I remeber correctly, he did blame his sickness on some sort of seed in the journal he left.

[Vergeltung]

Originally Posted by Amiel

The guy your refering to was Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp. There was a movie made on his experiences called "Into the Wild" which ended in the way you described although it is thought that it may have just been simple rabbit starvation. If I remeber correctly, he did blame his sickness on some sort of seed in the journal he left.

In searched the site to find a discussion of the movie. found none. I figured this would be a fantastic place to discuss it!!

[Amiel]

If you like the movie, the book is even better. It's also called into the wild, but contains much more info. As for Mccandless, most of the people here are hardcore survivalists, and are likely to consider him as rash, arrogant, or just plain stupid, and even though I disagree you will probably not be able to persuade them otherwise.

[scafool]

Originally Posted by Hodeman

While you all are in flora identification mode...what the heck is this green plant in the attached photo. I havn't been able to identify it..but up here in Indiana its rather common in the woods. Never could find anybody who knew what its officially called though.

That is a type of club moss. I have heard it called ground pine, it is most likely Lycopodium obscurum