Urgent warning over nightmarish poisonous plant with deadly eyeballs spreading across the US
Hikers are being urged to watch out for a dangerous nightmarish plant that looks like it belongs in a Halloween movie.
Hikers are being urged to watch out for a dangerous nightmarish plant that looks like it belongs in a Halloween movie.
The white baneberry plant, known as Dolls Eye due to the berries creepy resemblance to eyeballs, spreads across woodlands and forests during fall.
It is native to eastern America, the Midwest and Canada - but will adapt to most growing conditions and can be found in the majority of states across the country.
Experts warn that every part of the plant, from root to berries, is extremely toxic and if ingested can cause severe side effects - or in extreme cases even death.
The white baneberry plant has pinkish stems that hold berries resembling eyeballs
Forager Alexis Nikole described the berries, which grow on flesh-like pink stems, as complete and utter nightmare fuel in one recent TikTok video.
She said: North Americas creepiest plant. As if I needed to tell you not to eat them, they look like theyre harboring a curse.
It looks like if you eat one of those, your bloodline will be cursed for always and eternity, she added.
The word baneberry stems from the Old English words bana or bona, which translates to slayer or murderer, the Indiana Native Plant Society explained.
If humans eat white baneberries - which mainly grow in forests and wetlands - they can experience dizziness, delirium, hallucinations, cardiac arrest and circulatory failure, it continued.
Other symptoms include gastrointestinal inflammation, vomiting, stomach pain, a burning sensation in the mouth or throat, headaches and convulsions.
Simply touching the plant is typically harmless, but contact can lead to dermatitis in sensitive individuals, the society added.
The berries and roots are the most poisonous parts of the plant.
Eating just six of these bitter-tasting berries could trigger severe sickness or death, the Indiana Native Plant Society warned. Children are more likely to be harmed than adults.
Its toxicity is linked to a chemical compound called ranunculin.
Ranunculin becomes an irritant oil in the plant, according to Colorado State University.
Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center explained.
There have been no reported baneberry-linked deaths or severe illnesses in the US, but parks departments, government agencies and botanical experts issue regular warnings about the danger it poses.
The Dolls Eye plant can cause severe side effects if eaten - and even prove deadly
White baneberries bloom from July to October in forest environments
Eating just six berries can be fatal, leading experts and government agencies to issue stark warnings about their dangers
The National Park service issued a warning about the plant on Facebook.
My toxic trait is that Im toxic, the post reads.
The agency encouraged people not to eat the fruit from the creepy eyeball aesthetic plant.
As if the eyeballs werent enough, they all have reddish "optic nerves" attaching them together. Nightmarish, one user commented.
Another person chimed in: This plant just screams "Don’t Eat Me!" Why any human would think such a grotesque thing was palatable is beyond me.
Someone else added: What in the Halloween nightmare is this?
A Eurasian species of the plant has been connected to the death of several children, according to Colorado State University.
Europe references are found concerning the death of children who have eaten the conspicuous red or white berries, the university stated.
The Eurasian baneberry is native to western Asia and eastern European countries. It is also known as herb Christopher.
Another related plant is the red baneberry, which grows everywhere in the US except the south east, according to Wisconsin Horticulture. It can also be found in some parts of Mexico.
Baneberries generally bloom from July to October.
The white baneberry plants botanical name is the actaea pachypoda. The red baneberry plant is known as the actaea rubra and the Eurasian variant is called the actaea spicata.
Its fairly easy to identify a wildlife fan from Yukon, Canada said about red baneberries. It has these large clusters of bright red berries at the end of the stem.
She added: The leaves are kind of unique too, in these groups of three with ragged edges.
All three species belong to the buttercup family. The red and Eurasian variants share similar looks, while the doll-eyed white berries have an eerier appearance.
The red baneberry grows everywhere in the US except the southeastern part and it just as lethal as the white baneberry
Another explorer documented their white baneberry sighting in Upstate New York.
They said in a TikTok: So my friend pointed out white baneberry. This one over here is the biggest one Ive ever seen.
Thats crazy, Ive never seen that before, Ive never seen anything even half that, But yeah, highly toxic, definitely not edible.
The white baneberry plant can grow up to three feet tall.
Despite baneberries toxicity, the plant used to serve medicinal purposes in Native American culture.
Baneberry juice was considered a valuable remedy against snake bites, according to Botanical.com, and was used to make black die.
Brewed into tea, parts of the plant were used to treat menstrual irregularity and postpartum pains, according to Medicinal Herb Info.
It was also used to treat common colds and coughs and as a constipation remedy.
A hiker who came across the deadly white berries in New York documented their experiences
A wildlife explorer saw red baneberries in Canada and explained their harmful effects
Awkward Botany reported that baneberries are occasionally browsed by livestock and wildlife including deer, elk and small mammals, but the plant yields little-to-no nutritional value.
Cows and horses can be poisoned by baneberries, according to Colorado State University.
Dogs and cats should not eat them either. The berries can irritate their mouths and, if eaten in large amounts, can cause kidney damage, according to the Pet Poison Helpline. But birds appear to be unaffected.
