Tasty Treat or Fatal Fruit? Here Are 5 Dangerous Wild Berries To Avoid

You find some dark-colored fruit while hiking in the woods. Are they delicious blueberries or poisonous pokeweed berries that could make you sick?

Never eat wild plants unless you know for sure what they are and how your body reacts to them. Ingesting some plants might even be deadly.

Here are some dangerous wild berries to avoid:

HOLLY

Small red berries. Grows in Southeastern states. Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and drowsiness.

LILY OF THE VALLEY

Small red berries. Grows in parts of Eastern states. Symptoms: nausea and vomiting, mouth and abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea and irregular heart rate.

NIGHTSHADE

Glossy black or dark purple berries. Grows along West Coast and in Michigan and New York. Symptoms: cramps, irregular heartbeat, tremors and paranoia.

POKEWEED

Clusters of dark purple berries. Grows over most of Eastern and Central states, as well as West Coast. Symptoms: stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and low blood pressure.

YEW

Small red berries, usually with an open end. The berry’s flesh is safe, but the seed is highly toxic if chewed. Grows in Alaska, West Coast and Northeastern states. Symptoms: confusion, difficulty breathing, nausea and vomiting.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: Just because birds or animals can eat certain berries, it doesn’t mean you can. If you start feeling ill and believe poisonous berries are the culprit, call your local poison control center.