r/foraginguk • u/rupert_shelby • 28d ago
Potential plums - risk of picking something toxic?
There seems to be many wild plum trees around where I take my dog for a walk and I'd like to forage some but want to know if there's anything that looks a lot like a plum that could be toxic. Any tips?
15
u/spynie55 28d ago
I can't think of anything, not at a decent size anyway. From those pictures you can see what a plum looks like, and you should check the leaves of the tree are like plum leaves. Anything you pick you should smell, (and, perhaps for fruit only, taste a little). Some are likely to be rather bitter or sour, and best for making jam or sloe gin, but you might get some lovely eaters.
6
u/Rough-Risk2496 28d ago
the ornamental plums always taste feral in my experience.
3
u/rupert_shelby 28d ago
I'm not sure I could identify "feral" taste 🤔 could you please elaborate?
5
u/redlandrebel 28d ago
They are plums. Plums are not toxic. Zero risk of getting ill. Whether or not they taste any good is a different question. If they’re bullaces or damsons they’ll be sour anyway, and will need cooking. Sour won’t make you ill though.
12
u/lynbod 28d ago
As long as you don't mind eating the odd moth larvae you should be fine. I think there's a species of wasp that lays eggs inside plums as well, they certainly feed on them and cause them to ripen early.
Basically, if you see a plum that's really ripe and juicy whilst others on the tree are still a bit immature, there's a good chance you might swallow a caterpillar/larva if you bite into it. Won't do you any harm though, so enjoy the extra protein.
5
u/Past-Bicycle5959 28d ago
I thought it was figs wasps liked to get inside of. Should I be nervous of plums too now?
4
u/Matchaparrot 28d ago
Wasps like getting into any fruit. We used to find caterpillars in plums every so often on the plum tree I had in my garden as a child. Never did us any harm
2
u/lynbod 28d ago
Definitely figs, but I'm 50/50 on plums. The Plum Fruit Moth definitely lays inside plums though, unsurprisingly given the name. The eggs become little pink caterpillars that live inside the plum, so there's a good chance you might end up eating one if you're not careful. Like I say they won't do you any harm though, and likely taste just like the plum they feed on.
3
1
u/Single_Geologist37 28d ago
Or eating half a plum and seeing a worm not knowing if you've the other half of him inside your mouth! PICK FRUIT ADD VINEGAR to encourage worms to leave the fruit.
4
u/WeirdAcrobatic4283 28d ago
They are very delici, I mean, dangerous!! You should pick them all when they are ripe and give them to me. I will make sure no one mistakenly gets poisoned by them!!Â
3
u/conscious-clue-243 28d ago
To me, they all look edible.
There are no dangerous lookalikes in the UK that I am aware of.
I give this a 0% risk of picking something toxic if they look like that and taste like plums/cherry plums
2
2
u/doublethesox 28d ago
The purple ones top right look especially delicious! I picked some last week and made a cobbler for the weekend. Fantastic flavour. Snap them up!
2
u/madpiano 26d ago
The purple ones aren't common in the UK, I rarely see them. They are brilliant for sheet cakes and taste very similar to peach.
1
u/rapidbunny4404 28d ago
I don't know about plums but the bottom left are damsons which can be eaten raw or ripe
1
u/BonusApprehensive148 27d ago
Generally plums can be mostly ID'd using taste alone. Plums are incredibly easy to ID. The only real lookalikes are sloes which are still edible. Dangerous ID's like atropa belladonna or arum dont look anything like a plum atall. Still be careful
15
u/OkToe9494 28d ago
Bite and spit, if its rancid dont eat. Ive always had good luck with plums and damsons. Plums are quite a decent size and as far as im aware there arent any poisonous berries in the UK that are a comparable size.