'Clueless' actress sparks concern after eating poisonous berry
Imagine glancing outside your living room window one fine autumn morning and Alicia Silverstone is munching away on your plants - your slightly toxic plants!
Alicia Silverstone has confirmed that she is "alive and well" after sharing a video of herself eating an unknown berry that turned out to be poisonous.
The actress was walking down a street in England when she came across some bright red and orange berries in a London street garden.
She did what any on-brand American would do while visiting another country - helped herself to some berries from a stranger's yard.
"Okay, I've discovered something and I can't figure out what it is. And I need your help. I just bit into it," she said while holding up the berry.
Yes, Alicia took a bite of a berry that she picked from a random garden - which was fenced nogal!
Is the Jerusalem Cherry Poisonous?
Alicia, who played Cher Horowitz in the 90s movie 'Clueless', says she was trying to figure out whether it was a tomato.
"It's definitely not, because look at these leaves. So what the heck is this?" the 47-year-old said while panning across the garden.
It's poison, Alicia. Poison!
According to several reports, the plant that Alicia was munching on is Solanum pseudocapsicum, also known as Jerusalem Cherry or Christmas Cherry.
It's an ornamental plant that many people keep in their gardens for its visual appeal.
"Jerusalem Cherry, an ornamental plant that is not for human consumption, eating the berries causes poisoning similar to consuming belladonna berries, urgent treatment is necessary to avoid more damage to internal organs," one Instagram user commented.
ALSO READ: Kim Kardashian slays Halloween 2023 in 'Clueless' movie outfit
According to MedlinePlus, the poisonous ingredient found in the plant is Solanocapsin.
"The Jerusalem cherry is a plant that belongs to the same family as the black nightshade. It has small, round, red and orange fruit. Jerusalem cherry poisoning occurs when someone eats pieces of this plant... The poison is found throughout the Jerusalem cherry plant, but especially in the unripened fruit and leaves."
It's not as deadly as Nightshade, but taking just one bite can be slightly toxic to humans.
According to the Daily Mail, the plant has caused death in some cases and is especially dangerous if you eat its leaves or the cherry when it is not ripe.
"Although the ripe Jerusalem cherry contains less of the poisonous component than the unripe fruits and leaves it is still toxic," Dr Duane Mellor told the publication.
"As such it should not be eaten as can commonly cause gastrointestinal effects including pain, nausea and diarrhoea as well as potentially delirium, fever and vision changes. It is important that people only eat fruits that they are familiar with or they are sure are safe to eat."
MORE FROM EAST COAST RADIO
Social media users were shocked that Alicia would eat something that she can't even identify.
"She's clearly clueless," one user wrote.
"ALICIA! Stop eating mystery veggies out of someone else’s street garden!" another user added.
However, some questioned why anyone in their right mind would keep such a plant on a busy street in London.
"Yes poisonous, but here's the real question. Why the hell is someone just growing a poisonous plant right on the street where children can pick a Berry off and eat it? Forget the fact that a clueless American Entertainer can, but animals and children as well. That seems very reckless and dangerous in my opinion. Now Alicia, you're a bit too old to be asking for advice after the fact. Next time wait for the responses before we put the poisonous berries inside our mouth okay."
Alicia shared a follow up video on her TikTok account, assuring her fans that she is doing perfectly fine.
"Alive and well. Don't worry... I didn't swallow," she joked.
HOW TO LISTEN TO EAST COAST RADIO
1. Listen to East Coast Radio on the FM (frequency modulation) spectrum between 94 and 95 FM on your radio.
2. Listen live to ECR by clicking here or download the ECR App (iOS/Android).
3. Listen to East Coast Radio on the DStv audio bouquet, channel 836.
4. Switch to the audio bouquet on your Openview decoder and browse to channel 606
5. Listen to us on Amazon Alexa.
Follow us on social media:
Main image credit: Instagram/@aliciasilverstone