It is very dangerous to dig wild vegetables by yourself, be careful of poisoning and being admitted to the ICU!

Nowadays, many people pursue "original ecological diet" and like to go to the wild to dig some wild vegetables to eat. It is necessary to remind everyone that from a safety perspective, this is not a wise thing to do, because many wild plants contain toxins.

Recently, there were news reports of two poisoning incidents caused by accidentally eating pokeweed. A total of four people were poisoned, and two of them were so serious that they were sent to the ICU. Fortunately, they were treated in time and no one died. According to two of the patients, they picked pokeweed and ate it as a wild vegetable, and then they developed symptoms of poisoning.

American pokeweed. Copyrighted images from the gallery. Reproduction and use may cause copyright disputes.

The main toxins contained in American pokeweed are triterpenoid saponins. If humans eat them, the most common symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, and mental symptoms such as mania and delirium.

In fact, in the native place of American pokeweed, some people do pick its young leaves and eat them as vegetables. Why don't they cause so many problems?

One reason is that the locals boil and soak it repeatedly before eating it to remove most of the toxins. Like the patient in the news report, they use its leaves to make soup, so the toxins are not wasted at all and are all consumed.

The second reason is that the locals mainly eat the stems and leaves of American pokeweed, which contain relatively low levels of toxins. If they eat the roots, it would be more dangerous.

The root of the American pokeweed looks like ginseng, and it is easy to be mistaken for having "tonic value". Some unscrupulous vendors even dig it out and sell it as ginseng. The toxin content in the root is much higher than that in the stems and leaves, and the poisoning symptoms will be more severe after ingestion.

The root of the American pokeweed. Copyright image. Reproduction may cause copyright disputes.

Ginseng slices. Copyrighted images from the gallery. Reproduction and use may lead to copyright disputes.

Phytolacca americana is a plant of the genus Phytolacca of the family Phytolacca, native to tropical regions of America. It is an alien species to my country. There are several plants of the same genus in my country. The most common one is Phytolacca americana. Its toxicity is similar to that of Phytolacca americana, but there are some differences in appearance. The infructescence of Phytolacca americana is generally drooping, and the fruit is spherical when ripe, while the infructescence of Phytolacca americana is generally upright, and the fruit is shaped like a clove of garlic.

Their fruits are also poisonous and are grape-colored, so children may mistake them for wild fruits and eat them by mistake. Since children are lighter in weight, the symptoms of poisoning are often more severe than those of adults.

There are many poisonous plants like Phytolacca americana and Pokeweed that are easily mistaken for wild vegetables and eaten by people, and cases of poisoning are not uncommon.

For example, the toxins contained in poison hemlock can also act on the human nervous system and are much more lethal. The appearance of the plant is very similar to the delicious water celery, and its living environment is also similar, both living near moist water.

Therefore, picking wild water celery to eat is actually a very risky thing. Now there is a mature artificial cultivation technology for water celery. If you want to eat water celery, it is best to buy it at the vegetable market.

Water cress, photo by: Desert Porcupine

When talking about water celery, we cannot fail to mention its relative, dry celery. They are from the same family but different genera. Water celery is a native plant in my country. In ancient times, its name was just one word - "qin". After the Han Dynasty, what is now called dry celery was introduced into my country and later became an everyday vegetable. Because it does not rely on a humid environment like water celery, it is called "dry celery".

Today, wild celery is much more common on the dining table than water celery, and the name "celery" has gradually come to refer to wild celery.

However, in the humid environment near the water, there is a poisonous plant called "Rhodon radiata". It belongs to the Ranunculaceae family and is distantly related to the celery and water celery of the Apiaceae family. But its leaves look a bit like celery, so it is also mistakenly eaten as "wild celery".

Ranunculus, photo taken by: Desert Porcupine

Having said so much, there is actually only one core point - it is best not to pick wild vegetables to eat by yourself.

Since it is eaten as a vegetable, the edible parts are generally the stems and leaves. The appearance of the stems and leaves of most plants is unstable and varies greatly, making it difficult to identify them accurately.

For example, shepherd's purse can have several different leaf shapes even on the same plant, not to mention different individuals in different environments.

The leaves on the same shepherd's purse look very different. Photo taken by: Desert Porcupine

Even if you can accurately identify the edible species, hygiene issues cannot be ignored. For example, watercress, also known as watercress, often grows in clear streams and looks "clean and unpolluted", but it is prone to carry some freshwater parasite eggs. If it is not fully heated during cooking, it may pose a health risk.

Author: Desert Porcupine Science Creator

Reviewer: Wang Kang, Director of the Science Museum of the National Botanical Garden

The cover image and some images in this article are from the copyright library

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