Introduction: What is the "purple grape" plant commonly seen on the roadside? Are its fruits edible? Why? As the saying goes: Knowledge is treasure, ignorance is grass. In the mountains in the countryside, there are all kinds of plants everywhere. Any plant is valuable to someone

Introduction: What kind of plant is the " purple grape " that is commonly seen on the roadside? Are its fruits edible? Why?

As the saying goes: Knowledge is treasure, ignorance is grass.

In the mountains in the countryside, there are all kinds of plants everywhere. Any plant is valuable to someone you know.

But for people who don’t know it, what they focus on is relatively simple. What is the value of this plant? Can it be eaten? Especially some plants that bear beautiful fruits, you can’t help but want to pick some and taste them.

But our ancestors also told us a very important rule of survival, which is "don't pick wild flowers on the roadside", which of course includes unknown wild fruits.

In summer and autumn, we often see a small purple wild fruit on the roadside in rural areas and in some wastelands. The clusters look like wild grapes . Although their fruits are not big and look about the size of soybeans, because they turn purple-black when ripe, they look very attractive and make people want to pick them and eat them.

What kind of plant is this "purple grape"? Can its fruit be eaten? Let’s find out together!

(1) Purple grape is not a wild grape, but an invasive alien species

If some children really mistake it for a wild grape. But in fact it has nothing to do with grapes, because grapes are the fruit of woody vines in the grape family.

This purple wild fruit is a perennial herbaceous plant, and it is not native to our country. It is an invasive plant from North America . Its scientific name is Phytolacca americana .

Phytolacca americana is a plant in the Phytolacceae family and Phytolacca genus . It is also called Phytolacca among the people, or Vertical order Phytolacca , just because it is similar to the native Phytolacca in my country. Compared with , its inflorescences and inflorescences hang downward.

This plant has very strong vitality. It does not care about the soil environment in which it grows. It grows very fast. The plant is very tall, with thick stems and fat stems and leaves, so it is very recognizable. Among the many wild plants , it is often the tallest, standing out like a flock of chickens.

Its flowering period is from June to August, and its fruits mature from August to October. The bunches of fruits are green at first, and turn purple and black when they mature. In the past, many rural children often picked its fruits and used them to dye their nails, or use them as ink for drawing, writing, etc.

(2) Can the fruits of Phytolacca americana be eaten? The whole plant is poisonous

Seeing the fruits of pokeweed, people who don’t know them will really want to pick them and play with them, or taste them. But here we need to tell you that pokeweed is an alien species, and its entire plant is poisonous, especially its mature fruits and thick underground rhizomes, which are the most toxic. I hope everyone will be vigilant and not pick them for consumption.

If you observe carefully, you will find that the appearance of Phytolacca americana is not low, especially after it blooms and bears fruit, it has high ornamental value. In fact, when my country first introduced Phytolacca americana into the country, it was also an ornamental plant on the spot because it was impressed by its appearance.

However, after being introduced into the country, this plant quickly adapted to our country's environment and has appeared wild in many places.

Because the fruits of Phytolacca vulgaris are very colorful, and there are tiny seeds inside the fruits. After being eaten by various birds, the seeds are excreted from the body and spread everywhere. Therefore, Phytolacca americana is grown all over the country. Nowadays, tall pokeweed can be seen in many urban communities, parks and roadsides.

This plant is really good at camouflage. Its fruits and flowers are very beautiful, especially when the fruits mature, they turn purple-black and look oily and smooth. It is easy for people to mistake it with delicious wild fruits. Connected, and that's how it spreads and reproduces.

However, the whole plant is poisonous. Although some birds can eat it, we humans cannot eat it.

Some rural children may object that when they were young, they picked the leaves and fruits of pokeweed and ate them. How come nothing happened? In fact, this is also related to the amount consumed, because talking about toxicity regardless of dosage is just a hooliganism.

If you just eat one or two pokeweed fruits, it will definitely be fine. However, if you consume it in excess, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, etc. may occur, and in severe cases, death.

The most terrifying thing is that in some places, because the rhizome of pokeweed is very fat and looks like ginseng, it is called "native ginseng".

Some unscrupulous vendors also treat it as native ginseng and sell it in the market. In fact, this is very dangerous, because the roots and fruits of pokeweed are the most toxic. Once consumed in excess, the toxins will accumulate to a certain extent. , it will endanger life.

In fact, as early as 2009, the State Forestry Administration had already issued a warning, pointing out that pokeweed is a poisonous plant, reminding everyone not to pick and eat it, whether it is its fruits, young leaves, or underground Don't eat any of the roots.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that pokeweed is not only poisonous, but also harmful as an invasive species. This plant has an amazing amount of fruit. Each inflorescence can produce 200-500 seeds, and each plant can produce as many as 1,000-10,000 seeds. And its seed reproduction rate is very high. Data shows that the top of each fleshy taproot of Pokeweed can produce 10-20 root buds.

In addition to its small seeds and attractive fruit color, it will attract a large number of birds and other animals that like to eat its fruits, thus facilitating its spread.

Once it takes root and sprouts, the thick underground rhizomes can fully absorb water and nutrients, and grow taller and faster, thus competing with other plants for nutrients, especially its tall plants, which will also cover surrounding plants, causing them to malfunction. growth or even death.

So if you see this kind of plant in the wild, especially if it grows in crop fields or yards, try to dig up the roots and eradicate it. If it is left behind, it will be a big disaster. Not to mention that you have eaten it before and picked it without any trouble. This is very dangerous.