Sorry the pics were taken at night, but I'm in middle Oregon in the US and I was wondering if I should be worried at the current intestinal distress I am experiencing. I was trying to look up common types of ornamental grapes to see if this matched them, but I had a hard time finding anything conclusive. Some of the fruits are purple, like a grape, but I couldn't find any to take pics of.
by Undeniably_Meh
5 Comments
It looks like Vitis sp. to me. The only toxic grape relative in “Oregon” is Parthenocissus vitacea, whose leaves don’t look like that (https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=232). If you’re unsure if it’s a Vitis species, you can check if the bark peels and the pith is brown. And you can use this dichotomous key to get it down to species level. https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=10287 To my knowledge, however, none of the Vitis species are toxic. You may have just eaten it too early or not washed it thoroughly enough.
You ate them before being sure? Did they taste like grapes? They look like grapes vines and flowers to me personally. We have wild grapes near where I live and they just came into season, so it would make sense but I don’t live anywhere near Oregon.
Bottom line though, always make sure you positive ID before eating anything. Gastrointestinal distress is not the worst thing that can happen if you eat the wrong plant.
Grapes are toxic only if you have diabetes, if you eat too much they cause bloating and have a laxative effect, the best way to consume grapes is to crush them and let them ferment for a few days, then you can enjoy a wonderful bahica liqueur
Muscadine grapevine
Definitely a grape, Vitis sp.