The following is an incomplete list of fleshy

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

that may appear to be edible by humans, but are inedible. Some of them are

poisonous Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, others are merely too

unpalatable Palatability (or palatableness) is the hedonic reward (i.e., pleasure) provided by foods or fluids that are agreeable to the "palate", which often varies relative to the homeostatic satisfaction of nutritional, water, or energy needs. The palatabil ...

for consumption.

Inedible fruits

* Abacá, ''Musa textilis'' (Musaceae) * Alemow, ''Citrus macrophylla'' (Rutaceae) * Alpine honeysuckle, ''Lonicera alpigena'' (Caprifoliaceae) * Asparagus berries, ''Asparagus officinalis'' (Asparagaceae) *

Baneberry ''Actaea'', commonly called baneberry, bugbane and cohosh, is a genus of flowering plants of the family Ranunculaceae, native to subtropical, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. Taxonomy The genus was redefine ...

, ''Actaea pachypoda'' (Ranunculaceae) * Bittersweet, ''Celastrus scandens'' (Celastraceae) * Black bryony, ''Dioscorea communis'' (Dioscoreaceae) *

Buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...

, ''Rhamnus cathartica'' (Rhamnaceae) * Canadian moonseed, ''Menispermum canadense' (Menispermaceae) *

Castor Bean ''Ricinus communis'', the castor bean or castor oil plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, ''Ricinus'', and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of ...

, ''Ricinus communis'' (

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

) * Ceylon durian, ''Durio ceylanicus'' (Malvaceae) *

Chinaberry ''Melia azedarach'', commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native ...

, ''Actaea rubra'' (Ranunculaceae) * Clusias, ''Clusia'' spp (

Clusiaceae The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. (1789) (''nom. alt. et cons.'' = alternative and valid name) are a family (biology), family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae ...

) * Coyote melon, ''Cucurbita palmata'' (Cucurbitaceae) * Cretan date palm, ''Phoenix theophrasti'' (Arecaceae) * Crown flower, ''Calotropis gigantea'' (

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members ...

) * Deadly nightshade, ''Atropa belladonna'' (Solanaceae) *

Ensete ''Ensete'' is a genus of monocarpic flowering plants native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. It is one of the three genera in the banana family, Musaceae, and includes the false banana or enset ('' E. ventricosum''), an economically impor ...

, ''Ensete ventricosum'' (Musaceae) *

European holly ''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asi ...

, ''Ilex aquifolium'' (Aquifoliaceae) * European spindle, ''Euonymus europaeus'' (Celastraceae) *

Firethorn ''Pyracantha'' (from Greek "fire" and "thorn", hence firethorn) is a genus of large, thorny evergreen shrubs in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, with common names firethorn or pyracantha. They are native to an area extending from Southwe ...

, ''Pyracantha angustifolia'' (Rosaceae) * Florida thatch palm, ''Thrinax radiata'' (Arecaceae) * Fox head, ''Solanum mammosum'' (Solanaceae) * Glossy nightshade, ''Solanum americanum'' (Solanaceae) * Golden dewdrop, ''Duranta erecta'' (Verbenaceae) * Harlequin glorybower, ''Clerodendrum trichotomum'' (

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

) * Herb-paris, ''Paris quadrifolia'' (Melanthiaceae) *

Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, ''Ilex'' spp. (Aquifoliaceae) * Honeybush, ''Melianthus major'' (Francoaceae) * Honeyvine, ''Cynanchum laeve'' (Apocynaceae) * Inca-peanut, ''Plukenetia volubilis'' (Euphorbiaceae) * Ink berry, ''Dianella nigra'' (Asphodelaceae) *

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

, ''Hedera'' spp. (Araliaceae) *

Japanese star anise ''Illicium anisatum'', with common names Japanese star anise, Aniseed tree, and sacred Anise tree, known in Japan as , is a tree closely related to the Chinese star anise (''Illicium verum)''. Since it is highly toxic, the fruit is not edible; ...

, ''Illicium anisatum'' (Schisandraceae) * Jatropha fruit, ''Jatropha curcas'' (Euphorbiaceae) * Laurel, ''Prunus laurocerasus'' (Rosaceae) * Lily of the valley, ''Convallaria majalis'' (Asparagaceae) * Linden (also known as Lime or Basswood), ''Tilia'' spp. (Malvaceae) * Manchineel, ''Hippomane mancinella'' (Euphorbiaceae) * Mape tree, ''Inocarpus fagifer'' (Fabaceae) * Masuri berry, ''Coriaria nepalensis '' (Coriariaceae) * Mezereum, ''Daphne mezereum'' (Thymelaeaceae) *

Mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. ...

(3 genera in the order Santalales) * Osage-orange, ''Maclura pomifera'' (Moraceae) *

Opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable ornam ...

, ''Papaver somniferum'' (Papaveraceae) * Paddy melon, ''Cucumis myriocarpus'' (Curcurbitaceae) *

Pangium edule ''Pangium'' is a genus containing the sole species ''Pangium edule'', a tall tree native to the mangrove swamps of Southeast Asia (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). It produces a large poisonous fruit (the "football fruit" or pangi) which can ...

, ''Pangium edule'' (Achariaceae) * Poisonberry, ''Solanum dulcamara'' spp. (Solanaceae) *

Pokeweed ''Phytolacca americana'', also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries, and inkberry, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae. This pokeweed grows . It has simple leaves on green ...

, ''Phytolacca americana'' (Phytolaccaceae) *

Privet A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, native to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many introduced and nat ...

, ''Ligustrum'' spp. (Oleaceae) * Rattlebox (

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

) * Redoul, ''Coriaria myrtifolia'' (Coriariaceae) * Rosary pea, ''Abrus precatorius'' (Fabaceae) * Sandbog death camas, ''Zigadenus glaberrimus'' (Melanthiaceae) * Sausage tree, ''Kigelia africana'' (Bignoniaceae) * Sea mango, ''Cerbera manghas'' (Apocynaceae} *

Silverbell ''Halesia'', also known as silverbell or snowdrop tree, is a small genus of four or five species of deciduous large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae. Range They are native to eastern Asia (southeast China) and eastern North Amer ...

, ''Halesia'' spp. (Styracaceae) *

Snowberry ''Symphoricarpos'', commonly known as the snowberry, waxberry, or ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. With the exception of the Chinese coralberry, '' S. sinensis'', whi ...

, ''Symphoricarpos'' spp. (Caprifoliaceae) * Soapberry, ''Sapindus'' spp. (Sapindaceae) * Sponge gourd, ''Luffa aegyptiaca'' (Cucurbitaceae) *

Strychnine tree ''Strychnos nux-vomica'', the strychnine tree, also known as nux vomica, poison fruit, semen strychnos, and quaker buttons, is a deciduous tree native to India and to southeast Asia. It is a medium-sized tree in the family Loganiaceae that grows ...

, ''Strychnos nux-vomica'' (Loganiaceae) * Suicide tree fruit, ''Cerbera odollam'' (Apocynaceae) * Syringa berrytree, ''Melia azedarach'' (Meliaceae) * Thorn apple, ''Datura stramonium'' (Solanaceae) * Tibetan dewberry, ''Rubus thibetanus'' (Rosaceae) * Tickberry, ''Lantana camara'' (Verbenaceae) *

Tormentil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenn ...

, ''Potentilla erecta'' (Rosaceae) *

Trifoliate orange The trifoliate orange, ''Citrus trifoliata'' or ''Poncirus trifoliata'', is a member of the family Rutaceae. Whether the trifoliate oranges should be considered to belong to their own genus, ''Poncirus'', or be included in the genus ''Citrus'' is ...

, ''Citrus trifoliata'' (Rutaceae) * Tropical soda apple, ''Solanum viarum'' (Solanaceae) * Tung tree, ''Vernicia fordii'' (Euphorbiaceae) *

Virginia creeper ''Parthenocissus quinquefolia'', known as Virginia creeper, Victoria creeper, five-leaved ivy, or five-finger, is a species of flowering vine in the grape family, Vitaceae. It is native to eastern and central North America, from southeastern ...

, ''Parthenocissus quinquefolia'' (Vitaceae) *

Wahoo Wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh makes it a prized and valued game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is ...

, ''Euonymus atropurpureus'' (Celastraceae) * Weeping pear, ''Pyrus salicifolia'' (Rosaceae) * Wild arum, ''Arum maculatum'' (Araceae) * Wild cucumber, ''Marah macrocarpus'' (

Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are: *''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds *'' Lagen ...

) *

Wild olive Wild olive is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *'' Bontia daphnoides'' * Several species in the genus ''Elaeagnus'' (family Elaeagnaceae), particularly: **''Elaeagnus angustifolia'' **'' Elaeagnus latifolia'' *''Halesia carolina'' ...

, ''Olea oleaster'' (Oleaceae) *

Winter cherry ''Winter Cherry'' (russian: Зимняя вишня, Zimnyaya vishnya) is a 1985 romantic comedy directed by Igor Maslennikov. Plot The main character of the film is Olga (Yelena Safonova), a beautiful intelligent 30-year-old woman, resident ...

, ''Solanum pseudocapsicum'' (Solanaceae) *

Yellow buckeye ''Aesculus flava'', the yellow buckeye, common buckeye, or sweet buckeye, is a species of deciduous tree. It is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, genera ...

, ''Aesculus flava'' (Sapindaceae) * Yellow oleander, ''Cascabela thevetia'' (Apocynaceae) * Yew cones with seeds unremoved, ''Taxus'' spp. (Taxaceae)

Inedible fruits

See also