Content
- Is the bird cherry edible or poisonous?
- Bark, wood, flowers, leaves and seeds are poisonous
- The pulp is edible
- Tips & Tricks
Is the bird cherry edible or poisonous?
Whoever sees the fruits of the bird cherry for the first time will presumably label them as poisonous and leave them to the birds as food source. But are they really poisonous? And what about the other parts of the plant?
Bark, wood, flowers, leaves and seeds are poisonous
The bird cherry is sometimes poisonous. Especially their bark and seeds contain high doses of cyanogenic glycosides. These include amygdalin and purasin. These decompose to bitter almond oil and hydrogen cyanide. Both substances are considered toxic to humans and animals.
Just as poisonous are the wood, the leaves and the flowers of the bird cherry. Only the Gespinstmotte can not impress it ...
But the bird cherry is fair: their poisonous plant parts smell strong and unpleasantly foul and vinegar-like. They are less likely to be eaten. For this reason, poisoning with these parts of the plant is unlikely. In addition, they taste extremely bitter, which should give a sense of taste to the taste.
The pulp is edible
On the other hand, the pulp of the bird cherry is edible. It is worth to try the pulp once. Not necessarily raw, as it is not a tasty delicacy in the raw state. But in the processed state it can feed. The fruits are suitable for. For example:
The fruits ripen from July and can be harvested until September. They are small, spherical, shiny and dyed black. The contained poisonous seed is large and the chance to inadvertently ingest it is low.
Tips & Tricks
The pulp of the fruits of the bird cherry tastes less delicious with its high bitterness. But it has the advantage that it reduces fever and helps against rheumatism.
KKF