# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  Cherry Tree?

## JPGreco

*I know I will have to get pictures up, but the berries haven't ripened yet*

So I have a big tree in my front yard that produces red cherry like berries.  I haven't eaten one cause I never realized that it might be edible, yay ignorance.  However, I can not identify the tree.  From what I've read, which I am skeptical of, is that all cherries are edible.  Also that if you taste a wild berry and it tastes like a berry should, then it is edible.  Well I did taste one last summer and it tasted like a cherry, but thats about all the info I have on it.

Any advice on whether or not they are edible or a place to find a resource to try to ID this tree?  It would be amazing to have a cherry tree.

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## crashdive123

Take pictures of the leaves, bark on the trunk, and fruit if it is available.

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## JPGreco

I'll get that to you in the next couple of days for sure.  I want to ID the tree before it ripens so if it is edible, I can harvest it.

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## rwc1969

If you eat too many raw Black cherries, from the black cherry tree, they can make you sick. I think the same may be true for choke cherries. I wouldn't taste any berries or fruit unless i knew what they were. The only wild cherries i've ate in abundance were pin cherries as they are almost identical to a storebought sweet cherry, just smaller.

Black cherry bark is black and rough. It looks like black corn flakes stuck to the tree.

Pin cherry is smoother, like a typical domestic fruit tree with horizontal marks on the bark similar to a birch.

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## JPGreco

Well, I only tasted after researching.  I never ID'ed for sure the tree, but I was pretty sure it was from the cherry family, which I read were all edible.  But that's why I'm asking here to ascertain the actual species.  I should have time tomorrow to get some picks of the leaves, bark, and young and still green fruit.

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## DrewtheFungophile

When ripe, take a bite, if its bitter, acrid or otherwise unpleasant spit it out. The only berry that can get you sick from tasting it is the poison Ivy berry, which is white.

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## gryffynklm

> When ripe, take a bite, if its bitter, acrid or otherwise unpleasant spit it out. The only berry that can get you sick from tasting it is the poison Ivy berry, which is white.


Thats a scary and reckless generalization. There are many berries that are toxic and can cause illness or even death. If you don't know the plant don't eat it. Get a field guide and positively identify the plant the berries are on before eating. I hope you put more attention to sampling mushrooms. 

List of Poisonous Berries and How to Avoid Them
By: Maeve Rich

Berries can be delicious or deadly and anywhere from very easy to rather difficult to identify. Some poisonous berries closely resemble edible ones, meaning that unless you're certain of what you're eating, you may be putting yourself at risk.

Yew. Yews are red or blue berries which grow on evergreen trees or shrubs. The seeds of yew are poisonous and make the yew a fruit you should avoid except in the case of emergency. If you absolutely must eat for survival, eat just the fruit of the yew; never the seeds.

Holly. Holly berries grow on deciduous or evergreen shrubs. The berries are red.

European Holly. A different plant from holly, European holly berries are slightly poisonous to people. They have white flowers and red berries.

Daphne. Don't be fooled by the sweet smelling green or pink flowers; the berries of the Daphne plant are poisonous.

Privet. The berries of this shrub are only mildly poisonous to humans (but eating them is still not recommended). You can recognize privet by its pretty flowers and purple to black fruit.

Pokeweed.  This is also known by other names including poke, poke berry and pokebush. Although birds can digest pokeweed, the berries are poisonous to humans. The berries are dark purple, while the flowers of pokeweed are greenish-white.

Jerusalem Cherry. The Jerusalem cherry looks a lot like a cherry tomato, making it easily confused for a non-poisonous fruit.

Elderberry. The elderberry produces white or cream colored flowers and black, blue-black or red berries.

Doll's Eyes. This is a highly poisonous berry which grows on a plant with white flowers. The berry itself is large and white with a black mark, giving it the appearance of eyes.

Since determining whether a berry is poisonous can be extremely difficult, it is best to avoid eating any wild berries unless you are absolutely certain of what they are. Poisonous berries many times closely resemble edible berries, so correctly identifying them is vital. You can purchase a field guide to take with you when in the woods to help you identify wild berries. And remember: If a berry doesn't taste the way you expect it to, stop eating it immediately.

From the link Below
http://www.life123.com/home-garden/t...-berries.shtml

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## DrewtheFungophile

Tasting is different than ingesting, how do you think many mycologists and fungophiles id mushrooms w/o doing a spore print? You cannot be poisoned unless its ingested, unless its a poison ivy berry

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## gryffynklm

Drew, not being a mycologist and only a fungieater, I usually allow the growers to do that work. Since that is their practice then taste away. Since I'm not in that practice I will still opt for the positive ID. Good info to know and something to look into.

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## JPGreco

Yeah, sorry about never getting pictures, I can't find my transfer cable for my camera.

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## Rick

I'm with Gryff on this. There is absolutely no reason to put anything in your mouth if you don't know what it is. I would appreciate a link to a reputable source to back up your position.

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## DrewtheFungophile

As you've requested.
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/odortaste.html

And as I have stated, you have to have somewhat of a general idea what your looking at, I mean, I don't go around sticking sticks and leaves in my mouth to see if they are tasty. Lets just say for conversation sake I am looking at three boletes, since none are poisonous, some are bitter and acrid and others are downright awful. I want to distinguish which one is palatable. Therefore, I am under the assumption by the author's post that it is a Cherry tree, but he/she doesn't know if its an edible cherry. Since, the only poisonous aspect of a cherry is the seed (same with store bought cherries), I am sure the author has a rational mind and is not going to start munching on cherry pits.

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## rwc1969

Taste does play a somewhat strong role in mushroom identification, and as long as you don't swallow any of the mushroom it is, according to the experts, perfectly safe to do so. Having said that, you won't find me tasting any Amanita mushrooms.

I would be leary of tasting unknown plants.

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## Rick

Following the earlier logic Currants would be off the menu. You don't get much more bitter than those rascals but boy are they good.

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## bcardineau

> Taste does play a somewhat strong role in mushroom identification, and as long as you don't swallow any of the mushroom it is, according to the experts, perfectly safe to do so. Having said that, you won't find me tasting any Amanita mushrooms.
> 
> I would be leary of tasting unknown plants.


To add to this, the taste test is used to test for acid. Acids have a very bitter taste (lemons=citric acid // asprin=acetoxy benzoic acid). Furthermore, many acids are strong oxidizers, and cause upset stomach (tanic acids in acorns). The taste test in mushrooms is used to gain some information on the acid levels in a mushroom as a way to ID it. If you taste the deadly amanita's, they won't taste bitter at all (they contain a cyclic peptide which shuts down your body). If you eat them however, you will have a long and painful death.

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