Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Possumhaw



Ilex decidua, which besides the wonderful berries has the best possible English name for a native North American plant.

4 comments:

G. Verloren said...

Curiously, possumhaw isn't actually a kind of haw. It is a type of holly plant, rather than a hawthorn. This strikes me as an exceptionally odd way to name a plant, because true haws are edible, while holly fruit is quite poisonous.

John said...

These taste bad but are not poisonous. If they were, the Park Service wouldn't plant them everywhere.

G. Verloren said...

You have a lot of faith in your local Park Service, it seems. I'm used to more... inept... sorts of public services in my locality.

G. Verloren said...

Also worth noting, not all varieties of holly are equally poisonous, but they're all at least somewhat toxic.

Possumhaw may not easily harm an adult, but it can readily harm a child or a household pet. Naturally it depends on the individual and on how large of a dose they receive, but they're certainly not an "edible" fruit in the standard sense. Even ignoring the taste, you certainly wouldn't want to make a pie out of them, or even just eat a large handful.