Nowadays, honeysuckle no longer finds a home only in the wild. Many gardeners have brought this climbing plant into their own green paradise. But can you be completely safe or is this plant poisonous?
Is honeysuckle poisonous?
Honeysuckle is slightly poisonous; the berries in particular contain toxic alkaloids and cyanogenic glycosides. Symptoms of poisoning can include vomiting, chest pain, fever and seizures, although birds can tolerate the berries.
Slightly toxic – the dose makes the poison
This plant, which comes from the honeysuckle family, is slightly poisonous. This applies to all species. Both humans and animals such as dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs and horses are at risk.
Birds, however, can eat the berries without having to succumb to symptoms of poisoning. When they eat the berries, they do not chew the poisonous seeds, but rather excrete them. Most of the toxins are in the seeds! It is mainly alkaloids and cyanogenic glycosides that cause the toxic effect.
Symptoms of poisoning
If you eat 2 berries, you usually don't have to expect any symptoms. If you consume more than 5 berries, you may experience vomiting, chest pain and a mild fever. From a quantity of 30 berries onwards it becomes much more uncomfortable:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Irration in the gastrointestinal tract
- Sweats
- Fever
- seizures
- accelerated pulse
The berries are especially tempting
Although the leaves and flowers are also poisonous, the red berries are the most dangerous. Children are most likely to snack on them as they are reminiscent of currants. But don't panic: the berries taste bitter and children usually don't eat more than two of them.
Tips & Tricks
Honeysuckle is not only poisonous internally. In sensitive people, external handling can also lead to allergic reactions. Therefore, as a precaution, you should wear gardening gloves (€9.00 on Amazon) when cutting this climbing plant.
