I got into several big patches of it out in the woods. Before I knew what it was I went at it pretty boldly... I was thinking about eating the leaves so I pressed it against my skin for a few minutes. After a while I burst one of the unripe fruits between my thumb and forefinger. I carried a plant home by its stem to take photographs of it and try to identify it. I later learned that it was called "American Mandrake" and nearly every aspect of it is extremely toxic. It can cause all kinds of systemic failures as well as depression and death. Has anyone else gotten themselves into a patch of this stuff? Is it so bad as it sounds? I feel like a moron for diving into the stuff without knowing what it was but I am somewhat relieved to see a picture of someone else on this forum holding up one of these plants uprooted with their bare hands.
If you're talking about Podophyllum peltatum: Somewhat. If you only eat a few fruits, it doesn't cause any problems, but large volumes are pretty toxic. Ditto the rest of the plant. However, the symptoms only happen if you ingest the plant - handling it will leave toxic traces on your skin but not enough to do any real damage. Still, it's best to wash your hands well after dealing with anything like this. If you're talking about Solanum linnaeanum: Extremely. Signs of toxicity start at two berries, serious illness at three, and death around 5 or 6. All parts of the plant are toxic, although, like the Podophyllum, handling doesn't do much. And why you'd go about eating the leaves off of random nightshades is right beyond me - I would be extraordinarily cautious about eating any Solanum I found in the wild and didn't intimately recognise.
Thanks for the info lorax, that was very helpful. I do a lot of cooking at home and I've learned that some of the common plants in the area taste great. There was so many Podophyllum pelatatums and their leaves were so huge I was hoping I could make lots of salad base out of them LOL. I wasn't expecting to find something deadly poisonous out there but it just goes to show I guess. I'm glad I looked them up before I started gathering a bunch of leaves and dousing them in ranch. I will go visit the Mayapple colony again when their little fruits are ready though :)
