Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 17:04:06 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Peter Osenton Subject: Re: birds and deadly-nightshade berries MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Rob, I am not aware of any birds eating any of the nightshade family fruits. But, yes, most of our native plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) are poisonous. I don't think there is a problem with them in so far as direct contact, [as compared to poison ivy], but ingestion is another story! So, I don't think it is necessary to wear gloves to protect yourself. However, it would be a good idea to wear them if you have lots of Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) as it has many thorns on it. This i= s the plant that has small yellow tomato-like fruits on it. In regard to your native weeds. If at all possible, definitely leave the Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)!! The berries are eaten by many passerines. I have probably seen at least 8-10 species of birds eat this. Peter C. Osenton, Wildlife Biologist USGS,Biological Resources Division Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel, MD 20708 USA Robert Weiner cc: Sent by: Maryland Subject: [MDOSPREY] b= irds and Birds & Birding deadly-nightshade berries 03/24/2000 04:27 PM Please respond to Maryland Birds & Birding opsreyers, do any of our local birds eat deadly nightshade berries? I was planning to remove a large stand of the stuff from the backyard before my daughter tries to eat it, but thought I'd check first, as some of the plants still have some dried-looking berries on them from last fall. are the leaves and stems toxic to the touch a la poison ivy? should I wear gloves if I remove them? I would be happy to lay off our typical bumper crop of weeds and vines this summer (pokeweed, porcelainberries, etc.) if I thought they were especially helpful to our local (DC) urban songbird population. Is there any source of info on this? thanks for your help, rob Robert Weiner (rweiner@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu) George Washington University Washington DC 20052 202 994 5981 ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ===========================================================================