Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - October 22, 2015
From: Portsmouth, VA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Poisonous Plants, Herbs/Forbs, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Food Allergy to Beautyberry or Persimmon?
Answered by: Anne Van Nest
QUESTION:
I think I might have a food allergy to Beautyberry or American Persimmon, eaten Saturday at the North Carolina Great Dismal park. These were the only strange foods recently, though I've had persimmon before ok. By Monday I started to get a rash typical of food allergy and still have it Tuesday night. Just a caution, some people might be allergic. The berries I ate smelled like light perfume and had the same for taste but not strongly.ANSWER:
Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry) American beautyberry most often grows 3-5 ft. tall and usually just as wide, It can reach 9 ft. in height in favorable soil and moisture conditions. It has long, arching branches and yellow-green fall foliage, but its most striking feature is the clusters of glossy, iridescent-purple fruit (sometimes white) which hug the branches at leaf axils in the fall and winter. The seeds and berries are important foods for many species of birds, particularly the Northern Bobwhite. Foliage is a favorite of White-tailed Deer.
Native American used root and leaf tea in sweat baths for rheumatism, fevers, and malaria. Root tea used for dysentery, stomach aches. Root and berry tea used for colic.
Nan Hampton answered a previous Mr. Smarty Plants question about the toxicity of American beautyberry and has some good references included.
Diospyros virginiana (common persimmon) In old fields, common persimmon is a low, shrubby tree, 15 ft. tall. In rich, moist soil the species becomes a large tree, up to 100 ft. tall, with a spreading crown and pendulous branches. Bell-shaped, yellow flowers are hidden by half-grown leaves. Large, oval, mature leaves usually become yellow-green in fall. The large, orange, edible fruit attracts wildlife. On old trunks the bark is thick and dark-gray to almost black and broken into scaly, squarish blocks. Common persimmon is deciduous. Best-known by its sweet, orange fruit in autumn.
When ripe, the sweet fruit of Persimmon somewhat recalls the flavor of dates. Immature fruit contains tannin and is strongly astringent. Persimmons are consumed fresh and are used to make puddings, cakes, and beverages. American Indians made persimmon bread and stored the dried fruit like prunes. Opossums, raccoons, skunks, deer, and birds also feed upon the fruit. Principal uses of the wood are for golf-club heads, shuttles for textile weaving, and furniture veneer. Deliciously sweet when ripe, these persimmons were the native fruits most prized by indigenous people of the Southeast.
There is information online about people showing an allergic reaction to persimmon.
It is wise to consult your primary physician in cases of food allergies.
From the Image Gallery
More Shrubs Questions
Native perennial winter plants for Waco, TX
November 03, 2004 - I live in the Waco area, and would like to know winter plants that I could use that would come back each year, flowering or otherwise.
view the full question and answer
Shrub or small tree for hedgerow to block view
November 06, 2007 - For property in the Post Oak Savanah area of Eastern Texas, north of Bryan, Texas, I would like to plant a native hedgerow to block the view of a neighboring property. Ideally this would be a shrub t...
view the full question and answer
Screening Shrub for Lubbock TX
April 08, 2012 - I am a landscape architecture student at Texas Tech University and am looking for a drought tolerant shrub to be used for screening a water well area. The location is the northwest corner of a yard wi...
view the full question and answer
Evergreen that Grows to Three Feet in Michigan
May 22, 2014 - I have searched your site and can’t find what I need. I live in the middle of Michigan. I need a shrub that stays green year round and only grows to 3 feet or less.
view the full question and answer
Need help with my Mountain Laurel in Sugarland, TX
June 22, 2011 - Texas Mountain Laurel - My plant's leaves are turning yellow and falling off. I don't know if this is caused from over watering or under watering. I have skipped days of watering to see if it will h...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |