Edible Flowering Plants

Cooked berries are the food here. Elderberry jam, syrup and wine all start with ripe fruit that has been heated, and heating is what makes it safe. Raw berries, and the leaves, stems and roots, carry a cyanide-forming compound, with unripe fruit holding much more of it than ripe. A handful eaten straight off the bush is how people give themselves a bad stomach.

Toxic to cats and dogs, and to horses. The stems, leaves and seeds contain cyanide compounds, and the leaves are most toxic while they wilt. Signs are brick-red gums, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, panting and shock. Keep wilted prunings and apple cores away from pets.

Toxic to cats and dogs, and to horses. Eating it can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, and contact can irritate skin.

Toxic to cats and dogs, which is worth knowing because the same plants are a kitchen staple for us. Onions, garlic and chives damage a pet's red blood cells, and the damage builds up over repeated small nibbles rather than needing one big meal. Keep the bulbs and any cut stems out of reach.

The fruit is fine to eat. The pits, leaves, and twigs contain cyanide compounds, so do not chew the pits, and keep wilted prunings away from grazing animals, which they poison readily.

Mildly toxic to cats and dogs. A pet that grazes the plant may get mild vomiting and diarrhoea.

The fruit is fine to eat. The pits, leaves, and twigs contain cyanide compounds, so do not chew the pits, and keep wilted prunings away from grazing animals, which they poison readily.

The leaves are toxic to cats and dogs for the same reason they are toxic to us.

The STALKS are food and the LEAVES are not. Rhubarb leaves hold enough oxalic acid to make someone seriously ill, so cut them off and compost them rather than cooking anything green.

The fruit is fine to eat. The pits, leaves, and twigs contain cyanide compounds, so do not chew the pits, and keep wilted prunings away from grazing animals, which they poison readily.