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This is a PSA: Do not eat random berries you find in people’s front yards. Alicia Silverstone, visiting London with her family, apparently walked past what looked like a cherry tomato plant in someone’s (gated!) front yard, and to settle a disagreement over what it was, bit into the colorful berry-like fruit. Unable to reach a consensus, she took to TikTok to see if anyone could identify the plant, as it’s manifestly not cherry tomatoes (although, in fairness, it looks a lot like a cherry tomato from the outside).
TikTok did what it does best and quickly identified the snack as what looks like…Solanum pseudocapsicum, also known as a Jerusalem cherry. It’s in the nightshade family (as are tomatoes), and it’s “mildly poisonous,” according to Medline Plus.
In the comments on Silverstone’s original post, viewers are both impressed and concerned. “Eating random stuff from bushes when you don’t know what it is, is a level of non anxiety I can only aspire to,” wrote one. “Not very mindful… not very demure…,” cautioned another. The “she’s clueless” jokes are plentiful. Most agreed that poisonous or not, eating plants you haven’t identified and picking plants from private property are both no-no’s in general.
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It’s unclear how much of the fruit Silverstone consumed; however, per Medline Plus, symptoms of poisoning are often delayed, showing up 8 to 10 hours after ingestion. Jerusalem cherry poisoning can impact both the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems, resulting in delirium and stomach pain, among other symptoms. This kind of poisoning can be “very dangerous,” and it is suggested that people who consume Jerusalem cherries, also called winter cherries or Christmas cherries, immediately call poison control.
As of this writing, Alicia Silverstone has not updated the internet on her condition, but we wish her good health and leave people with this message from Medline: “DO NOT touch or eat any unfamiliar plant.”
