Berries growing in the forest can be edible or poisonous. Accordingly, the first of them are not harmful to health, but only useful, since they contain many natural vitamins, and poisonous ones can be dangerous not only to health, but also to life. Let's consider what kind of berries there are in the forest: edible berries and poisonous berries, how to distinguish useful forest berries from dangerous ones.

• white snowberry (brush), with white round berries.
• fruits of euonymus warty orange color, have a black dot. The berries hang on a long grassy thread.
• Elderberry is a herbaceous, stinking elderberry, the fruits of which are spherical in shape and purple-black in color. In case of elderberry poisoning, the head begins to feel dizzy and hurt, weakness appears, a sore throat is felt, abdominal pain occurs, a feeling of nausea and vomiting appears. Mucous membranes may become stained blue. They are flattened laterally.
• The fruits of hemlock mottled are red, juicy, and pea-sized.

Crow's eye berry

A completely poisonous plant is crow's eye, especially the bluish-black shiny berries, causing nausea, vomiting, cramps, pain, upset stomach, paralysis.

The bright red, shiny berries of the bittersweet nightshade, which have an elongated shape and sweet taste, cause rashes and inflammation of the skin. The berries of arum, bryonia, akucuba, datura and holly, mistletoe, euonymus, gorse, castor bean, yew, privet, and wild grapes are poisonous.

Poisonous berries in the forest include wolf's bast, or wolfberry, wolf's ivy, common wolfberry, bittersweet nightshade and black nightshade. Bittersweet nightshade berries are red and ovoid, while black nightshade berries can be green or black. Black nightshade berries can be eaten, but only when they are absolutely ripe, since unripe fruits contain some toxic compounds that are completely destroyed during the ripening process of the berries. The berries can be used as a filling for pies.

Belladonna berry

The poisonous berry is belladonna. Its fruits have a shiny black-blue color, the shape of the berry is flattened, spherical, the size of a cherry. M new year herbaceous plant with a green or purple stem, branched at the top, up to 1-2 meters high. This plant can cause severe poisoning, sometimes even fatal.

Russian forest! You will not find other landscapes as rich in colors, tones, shades as the forests of Russia. There are proverbs and riddles about the Russian forest; songs and poems are dedicated to it. How many works are dedicated to him by Russian artists and writers.

Its importance in a person’s life cannot be underestimated. Forests protect reservoirs from shallowing and fields from drying out. The forest is a break from the noise and dust of city streets, coolness in the summer heat.

In addition, our forests are rich medicinal plants, mushrooms, berries. Residents of cities and towns flock to forest clearings and clearings during the wild harvest season.

But in addition to a wonderful pastime, nature constantly tests a person. It is not enough to love her, to admire her. You should know and understand it well. After all, many people know about cases of poisoning due to accidental consumption of poisonous inedible plants.

In order not to ruin your mood or harm your health, let's talk today about forest plants with inedible fruits. Although the picking season for most berries and fruits has already passed, this topic is very important. Winter months They will fly by quickly, spring will end, summer will come, and we will go to the forest again to pick berries. But next time we will be more careful, we will learn to distinguish between healthy edible forest fruits and poisonous ones. This is especially important for our children.

So, let’s look at the most common forest plants with non-edible fruits found in our forests:

. The plant is one of the most toxic. Hemlock root is very similar appearance horseradish root. The smell is also very similar. The leaves of the plant are similar to those of garden parsley; the seeds are sometimes mistaken for anise fruits.

The plant prefers to settle in wastelands, along roads, in forest ravines, and in clearings. It can often be found in gardens and orchards. Hemlock contains poisonous alkaloids; coniine, which is part of the plant, is especially dangerous.

(cicuta). The plant smells deliciously like carrots, but the taste is the same. Its tubers resemble turnips or rutabaga in appearance. The plant is large, its tubular stems can reach one and a half meters in height. Vekh poisonous grows along the banks of reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and is found in swampy meadows. Moreover, it can grow directly in water.

The plant is poisonous. It contains the strongest nerve poison – cicutotoxin.

(daphne, wolfberry, thistle)- one of the most dangerous plants Russian forest. Moreover, the berries of this bush are especially poisonous. But when the low daphne bush blooms in April, you will admire it! You just want to inhale the aroma of fragrant scarlet flowers, the smell of which is reminiscent of lilac.

But the aroma is so intoxicating that you can forget the way home! Thistle grows in a leafless forest, in clearings brightly lit by the sun.

The plant is poisonous without exception. Its bark contains a poisonous yellowish resin called meserein. But the most dangerous are the berries of the wolf's bast.

Ten to fifteen pieces of berries eaten - lethal dose for a person. In addition to meserein, the berries contain coccognin, which can cause very serious poisoning.

If a person is poisoned, has a convulsion, his pupils are dilated, he has lost consciousness, he should immediately cleanse his stomach and give him water with ice to drink. After vomiting, drink jelly and a decoction of flaxseed. After which the patient should be urgently taken to the hospital.

It is children who most often suffer from wolf bast. Due to ignorance, the berries can easily be mistaken for red currants. Therefore, explain to children that the berries are inedible and dangerous, and red currants do not grow in our forests.

. This wonderful, pretty plant is actively used in medicine. Drops prepared from the plant soothe and strengthen the heart. But lily of the valley is also a poisonous plant. Its inedible red fruits, which often catch the eye in the August forest, are especially dangerous.

The plant has an intoxicating smell, as if warning: dangerous, don’t come near.

- a herb closely related to lily of the valley. The plant gets its name from the shiny black berry at the tip of the stem. There is always one fruit per whole low bush, black in color with a bluish sheath.

Of course, the fruit of the plant is inedible. The plant contains the poisonous saponin parastifin. The fruit damages cardiac activity, the leaves have an antispasmodic effect, the root can cause vomiting.

Naturally, contact with the plant is unacceptable! Show it to the children, explain that the plant is very dangerous.

Voronets its appearance resembles an elderberry. The entire plant has toxic properties. The fruits of the crowberry are black or red, hanging in small clusters. They are inedible and can cause severe poisoning.

When walking through the forest, breathing fresh forest air, do not lose your vigilance. Forest plants with inedible fruits can cause serious harm to health.

In addition to those listed, there are also the fruits of the swamp whitewing (they are red, similar to the cob), kupena officinalis with dark blue fruits, and bittersweet nightshade growing between the bushes.

Be careful and keep children away from contact with unfamiliar plants. Teach them to identify plants with inedible fruits. Remember, whoever can distinguish them is out of danger in the forest.

Wild berries are much healthier than cultivated berries. Wild berries grow in natural conditions, are not treated with drugs, and do not contain radionuclides or heavy metals. Wild forest berries provide a full range of minerals, vitamins and other beneficial elements. However, in the forest you can find not only berries, but also inedible berries. Let's take a closer look at which berries are inedible and why it is better not to eat such wild berries.

Juniper berries are inedible, and Cossack juniper berries can cause serious poisoning

Juniper is an inedible berry

• Common juniper- evergreen large shrub or small tree up to 3 m high. The trunk is covered with grayish-brown flaky bark. The leaves are needle-shaped, linear-subulate, spiny, widely spaced and collected in whorls of three. Flowers - in the form of a dioecious cone, blooms in June. The fruit is a juicy coneberry, green in color, ovoid in shape in the first year of life, and black-blue, spherical in the second year, with a shiny waxy coating, equipped with a three-ray groove at the top. The size of the cone berry is 7-9 mm. Its pulp contains 2-3 greenish-brown triangular seeds, which ripen in the fall of the second year. Grows in soils with moderate or high humidity, prefers coniferous, especially composite forests, found in clearings, clearings, on the edges and forest clearings.
• Juniper dahurian- a less common species, found in small groups or alone in some areas Khabarovsk Territory. Grows on rocky slopes, placers and rocks.
• Siberian juniper is a densely branching shrub up to 1 m high with shortened internodes, due to which the whorls of leaves are significantly closer together. The leaves are shorter and wider and pressed to the branches. The cone berries are larger and have a more pronounced bluish tint.
• Juniper Cossack- a widespread shrub with very thin branches last order. The bark is reddish-gray, the leaves are rhombic, tightly adjacent to the branches and to each other, they have a pit on the convex side. The fruits are round-oval, up to 7 mm in diameter, brownish with a bluish coating, contain 2-6 seeds inside. Poisonous!

Juniper berries are inedible

Juniper berries (cone berries) are not used for food, but are used in food industry in the production of fruit drinks, sweets, gingerbreads, beer and some alcoholic beverages, and pine needles and fruits - for smoking meat products. Particular care should be taken with Cossack juniper, since all parts of the plant are poisonous due to the content of significant amounts of poisonous sabine oil. Even small doses of this plant taken orally cause vomiting and diarrhea, and large doses cause damage to the kidneys, central nervous system(loss of consciousness, convulsions, paralysis). Possible death.

Juniper as a medicinal plant

Juniper is a strong medicinal plant and has long been used in folk medicine for a wide variety of diseases. Juniper was used for edema, kidney diseases, bladder diseases, cholelithiasis and kidney stones, malaria, gout, rheumatism, stomach diseases, pulmonary diseases (tuberculosis, bronchitis), and some skin lesions. In places where juniper grows, as noted, the air is especially clean and healthy, and this is explained by the fact that the plant secretes strong phytoncides.

IN modern medicine Juniper fruits are used as an antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and disinfectant, diuretic, diaphoretic, analgesic, stone-dissolving, choleretic, expectorant, and digestive improver.

Juniper cones are harvested in the fall when they are fully ripe by knocking or shaking them onto a tarpaulin spread under the bush. The fruits are sorted, slightly dried in the open air and dried in attics, sheds or under a canopy. They must be stirred frequently during drying. Drying in ovens or dryers is not allowed, as quick drying the berries lose their medicinal properties.

Elderberries are not poisonous, but are inedible

Red elderberry - inedible berry

Elderberry is a herbaceous, shrubby, woody plant growing in temperate and subtropical zones. There are about 40 species. 11 species grow in Russia, in particular Siberian red elderberry - medicinal and ornamental plant. It is a shrub with a height of 1.5 to 5 m. It is found in sparse, coniferous and mixed forests with sufficiently moist soil, along the edges, shady slopes of ravines and river banks. The bark of the branches is grayish-brown. The leaves are opposite, unequally pinnate, compound, with 2-3 pairs of leaflets. In spring, the leaves turn purple due to the increased anthocyanin content. The flowers are small, greenish at first, later yellowish-white, collected in large panicle inflorescences sticking up.

Red elderberry berries are inedible

The fruits of the red elderberry are bright red, fleshy berries with fleshy pulp and yellowish seeds. Leaves, bark and flowers have bad smell, and the berries taste unpleasant. The berries are not poisonous, but are not suitable for human food, although they are readily eaten by birds.

Red elderberry as a medicinal plant

In official medicine, elderberry has not yet found use, but in folk medicine it is used to obtain analgesic, diaphoretic, antitussive, emetic, diuretic, and laxative effects.

Buckthorn berries are inedible, but buckthorn bark has medicinal properties

Buckthorn is an inedible berry

Buckthorn is a plant in the form of a tree or shrub, up to 4.5-5 meters high. It is found in forest clearings and clearings; it loves damp places next to alder. It begins to bloom in May - June and blooms all summer until September. Therefore, on one buckthorn bush or tree you can simultaneously see flowers, flower buds, green, red and black berries. Having encountered such a plant in the forest, even an ignorant person will immediately understand that it is a buckthorn.

Buckthorn berries are inedible

Buckthorn berries are inedible for humans, no one collects them, and they are all left for seeds. But buckthorn berries are a delicacy for the bear, which eats them in large quantities. Buckthorn berries are also readily eaten by birds. They are the sowers of buckthorn in the forest. Many people consider buckthorn fruits to be poisonous, this is due to their strong emetic and laxative effects.

Buckthorn as a medicinal plant

In addition, the bark has medicinal properties and is used in medicine. In medicine, a decoction or extract from buckthorn bark is used as a good laxative for spasmodic colitis and atonic constipation, to regulate intestinal activity, for hemorrhoids, rectal fissures, etc. Buckthorn bark is part of the gastric and laxative tea.

The bark is harvested in May - June, during sap flow. IN medicinal purposes It is prohibited to use fresh or freshly dried bark, which may cause harmful effects in gastrointestinal tract. Suitable for medicinal use The bark is considered after one or two years of storage.

Buckthorn bark and berries are of economic and industrial importance. In industry, juice from buckthorn berries was previously used to make yellow and green watercolor paints. Due to the significant tannid content in the bark, it is used for tanning leather.

First aid for berry poisoning

The very first aid for poisoning with poisonous or non-toxic edible berries consists of stimulating vomiting - this procedure will free the stomach from toxic contents. To do this, the victim needs to be given 2-4 glasses of water (you can add activated carbon- 2 tbsp. per 500 ml, salt - 1 tsp. per 500 ml or potassium permanganate). The procedure will have to be carried out several times. Subject to availability medicines It is recommended to give the patient activated carbon, tannin, as well as any laxative and cardiac remedy. If you have seizures, you will have to use chloral hydrate. If there is no first aid kit, you can give the patient black crackers, starch solution or milk. It would also not hurt to do an enema (if possible). The victim should be wrapped warmly and taken to a doctor.

Poisonous berries in pictures

Many people enjoy hiking in the forest. They are often accompanied by picking berries. It’s a fascinating activity, but you just need to be careful while doing it, because not everything you can find is edible. And in order to avoid troubles that can manifest themselves in stomach upset or poisoning, it is worth knowing what berries grow in the forest, and which of them is edible.

Red and scarlet wild berries

Thanks to their color, they are the easiest to see, so the story should start with them. So, what berries grow in the forest that are red and are also edible?

Lingonberry, it is worth noting first of all, the berry is rich in carbohydrates, carotene and pectin. This sweet and sour wild berry grows on shrubs - low-growing evergreen perennials. The fruits are shiny, resembling small red balls (up to 0.8 cm in diameter). They ripen in late summer and early autumn.

Stone berry– a herbaceous plant with a maximum height of 30 centimeters. Characteristic feature are long shoots spread out on the ground. The berry is a fairly large aggregate drupe of 4 fruits with large seeds inside. It ripens in mid to late summer and tastes like a juicy pomegranate.

Kalina- a small scarlet drupe berry growing on leaf tree"in groups". It is impossible not to recognize her. It’s better to harvest after the first frost. Before them, it does not have a sweet, but a sour-bitter taste.

Orange wild berries

What berries grow in the forest and have this pleasant shade?

Cloudberry. It grows on herbaceous semi-shrub plants up to 30 cm high. The fruit is a composite drupe, up to 1.5 centimeters in diameter. It could have been confused with raspberries, if not for the soft orange hue and tart-sweet taste. They are collected in July-August.

Rowan fruits- another edible berries in the forest. They grow in bunches (like viburnum) on tall trees, sometimes reaching 10 meters in height. The fruits are dense, small, up to 1 cm in diameter. They taste juicy, but are bitter, so they are not eaten just like that - they are made into jam, compotes, or poured with honey or sugar.

When talking about what berries grow in the forest, one cannot help but mention sea buckthorn.
Sea ​​buckthorn is a large bush, rather like a tree, with bright orange fruits that grow very interestingly. Looking at the above photo, you can see that the fruits literally stuck to the branch (in fact, hence the name). So you won’t be able to confuse them with anything else.

Blue shades of wild berries

Perhaps the most beautiful “berry” color. And not rare. Everyone knows the amazing blueberry.

Blueberries - Blue on the outside, if crushed they turn purple, and when you remove the skin you can see that the flesh is green. The berry grows on a branched subshrub, the height of which is usually 30-50 cm (maximum 1 m). It can easily be confused with blueberries (more on that a little later). But lighter stems and a broken receptacle distinguish it. Blueberries also have a sour, sugary taste.

Blueberry. In fact, it can be distinguished from blueberries not only by the characteristics noted above. Of course, these are similar forest berries. Blueberries are still darker and purple inside. By the way, you can conduct a test right in the forest: stain your hand with berry juice, then try to wash it off. It didn’t work out, did the dark purple tint remain on the skin? So this is .

Honeysuckle- a wild berry that has a “blueberry” color but an elongated shape. It resembles a bell - even the “bottom” is flat. The taste is unique - it has sweetness, bitterness, and a little sourish tint. But the most important thing is that blue honeysuckle contains a complex of minerals and vitamins. It also ripens early - in early June.

Black wild berries

In nature, this shade does not exist in its pure manifestation. But there are a lot of things that are close in color. For example, blackberries. The berry grows on semi-shrubs, the stems of which are covered with sharp thorns - so it’s worth taking thick gloves when picking. The fruits are almost black, but are actually dark purple. There is a light coating that is easy to remove.

Blackberry– an interesting berry. first it grows to its usual size (up to 2 cm), and then acquires a shade - from green to red, then to brown, and then to rich dark purple.

Bird cherry and buckthorn– another almost black berries. They are often confused. The berries are small, round, and grow on trees. But the fruits grow in “groups”, on pink branches. From the outside it seems that the tree is decorated with long dark earrings. But buckthorn grows rarely - 5-7 berries on branches densely covered with leaves. Bird cherry has a pleasant sweetish-astringent taste. Buckthorn is sour-bitter and inodorous. It is used in medicine and added to alcoholic tinctures.

Currant, where would we be without her! Large berries grow on shrubs with lobed leaves. It comes not only black, but also red and white. But the sweetest are the black berries.

Other forest representatives

Strawberries– many go to the forest precisely for this sweet berry. Grows in sunny meadows, in the grass. Due to its resemblance to the famous berry, loved by many with cream, it was nicknamed “forest strawberry”.

Cranberry- Many people willingly go to coniferous sphagnum forests for... Absolutely all its types are edible. The spherical red berries are rich in vitamin C. Its amount is comparable to that contained in grapefruit, lemon and orange. Cranberries also contain vitamins K, B, PP and many others. necessary for the body substances. Perhaps this is the most useful swamp-forest berry.

Vodjanika- an interesting delicacy. It grows on low-growing shrubs, the leaves of which are more like pine needles. When viewed from a distance, it may appear to be a juniper. But no - this is a bush with edible berries. They are sour, and there is practically no pulp in them. There's juice inside! Hence the name. Recommended for removing radionuclides from the body and preparing delicious jelly.

What can't you eat?

Poisonous berries that's enough too. We talked above about blue honeysuckle - and so, there is also a red one, growing on large bushes. Its berries are round and poisonous, like the fruits of the wolf's bast. Only these are even more dangerous. They look like sea buckthorn - only red and round, and they also cling to a branch. You can’t even touch them - the poison is too strong and can quickly penetrate the skin.

Many people enjoy hiking in the forest. They are often accompanied by picking berries. It’s a fascinating activity, but you just need to be careful while doing it, because not everything you can find is edible. And in order to avoid troubles that can manifest themselves in stomach upset or poisoning, it is worth knowing what berries grow in the forest, and which of them is edible.

Red and scarlet

Thanks to their color, they are the easiest to see, so the story should start with them. So, what berries grow in the forest that are red and are also edible?

The first thing to note is lingonberries, which are rich in carbohydrates, carotene and pectin. This sweet and sour wild berry grows on shrubs - low-growing evergreen perennials. The fruits are shiny, resembling small red balls (up to 0.8 cm in diameter). They ripen in late summer and early autumn.

Drupe is a herbaceous plant with a maximum height of 30 centimeters. A characteristic feature is long shoots spread along the ground. The berry is a fairly large aggregate drupe of 4 fruits with large seeds inside. Drupes ripen in mid-to-late summer, and their taste is reminiscent of a juicy pomegranate.

Viburnum is a small scarlet drupe berry that grows in “groups” on a leaf tree. It is impossible not to recognize her. It is better to collect viburnum after the first frost. Before them, it does not have a sweet, but a sour-bitter taste.

Orange

What berries grow in the forest and have this pleasant shade? Cloudberries, of course. It grows on herbaceous semi-shrub plants up to 30 cm high. The fruit is a composite drupe, up to 1.5 centimeters in diameter. It could have been confused with raspberries, if not for the soft orange hue and tart-sweet taste. They are collected in July-August.

Rowan fruits are another edible berry in the forest. They grow in bunches (like viburnum) on tall trees, sometimes reaching 10 meters in height. The fruits are dense, small, up to 1 cm in diameter. They taste juicy, but are bitter, which is why they are not eaten just like that - they are made into jam, compotes, or poured with honey or sugar.

When talking about what berries grow in the forest, one cannot help but mention sea buckthorn. It is a large bush, rather like a tree, with bright orange fruits that grow very interestingly. Looking at the photo below, you can see that the fruits literally stuck to the branch (in fact, hence the name). So you won’t be able to confuse them with anything else.

Blue shades

Perhaps the most beautiful “berry” color. And not rare. Everyone knows the amazing blueberry. It is blue on the outside, but if you crush it, it will turn purple, and when you remove the skin, you can see that the flesh is green. The berry grows on a branched subshrub, the height of which is usually 30-50 cm (maximum 1 m). It can easily be confused with blueberries (more on that a little later). But lighter stems and a broken receptacle distinguish it. Blueberries also have a sour, sugary taste.

What about blueberries? In fact, it can be distinguished from blueberries not only by the characteristics noted above. Of course, these are similar forest berries. Blueberries are still darker and purple inside. By the way, you can conduct a test right in the forest: stain your hand with berry juice, then try to wash it off. It didn’t work out, did the dark purple tint remain on the skin? So it's blueberries.

Honeysuckle is a wild berry that has a “blueberry” color but an elongated shape. It resembles a bell - even the “bottom” is flat. The taste is unique - it has sweetness, bitterness, and a little sour tint. But the most important thing is that blue honeysuckle contains a complex of minerals and vitamins. It also ripens early - in early June.

Black

In nature, this shade does not exist in its pure manifestation. But there are a lot of things that are close in color. For example, blackberries. The berry grows on semi-shrubs, the stems of which are covered with sharp thorns - so it’s worth taking thick gloves when picking. The fruits are almost black, but are actually dark purple. There is a light coating that is easy to remove. Blackberries are an interesting berry. It first grows to its usual size (up to 2 cm), and then acquires a shade - from green to red, then brown, and then rich dark purple.

Bird cherry and buckthorn are another almost black berries. They are often confused. The berries are small, round, and grow on trees. But bird cherry fruits grow in “groups”, on pink branches. From the outside it seems that the tree is decorated with long dark earrings. But buckthorn grows rarely - 5-7 berries on branches densely covered with leaves. Bird cherry has a pleasant sweetish-astringent taste. Buckthorn is sour-bitter and inodorous. It is used in medicine and added to alcoholic tinctures.

And, of course, we can’t help but mention currants. Large berries grow on shrubs with lobed leaves. Currants are not only black, but also red and white. But the sweetest are the black berries.

Other forest representatives

These are strawberries - many people go to the forest precisely for this sweet berry. It grows in sunny meadows, in the grass. Due to its resemblance to the famous berry, loved by many with cream, it was nicknamed “forest strawberry”.

Many people willingly go to coniferous sphagnum forests for cranberries. Absolutely all its types are edible. The spherical red berries are rich in vitamin C. Its amount is comparable to that contained in grapefruit, lemon and orange. Cranberries also contain vitamins K, B, PP and many other substances needed by the body. Perhaps this is the most useful swamp-forest berry.

Crowberry is an interesting delicacy. It grows on low-growing shrubs, the leaves of which are more like pine needles. When viewed from a distance, it may appear to be a juniper. But no - this is a bush with edible berries. They are sour, and there is practically no pulp in them. There's juice inside! Hence the name. Recommended for removing radionuclides from the body and preparing delicious jelly.

What can't you eat?

There are also plenty of poisonous berries. We talked above about blue honeysuckle - and so, there is also a red one, growing on large bushes. Its berries are round and poisonous, like the fruits of the wolf's bast. Only these are even more dangerous. They look like sea buckthorn - only red and round, they also cling to a branch. You can't even touch them - the poison is too strong and can quickly penetrate the skin.

Crow's eye is a berry very similar to blueberries. But he still can’t be confused with her. Because it grows very unusually: one (!) berry on a stem, surrounded by four large leaves. However, in the above photo everything is clear.

And finally - the spicate crow. The currant-like berries are hidden under large, jagged leaves with an unpleasant, bright aroma. You should not touch the crow's berries, as well as the plant itself - its juice can cause ulcers and even blisters to appear on the skin. And getting inside will cause severe vomiting and suffocation (fortunately, passing).

So you should take a close look at what you want to put in the basket. List forest berries(both edible and poisonous) is very large, but the most striking representatives in every sense of the word were presented above.