Alicia Silverstone reassures fans she's alive after biting poisonous fruit
(WJW) -- After alarming some of her fans with a video in which she took a bite out of a mysterious (and possibly poisonous) berry, actress Alicia Silverstone has let everyone know she's just fine.
"Alive and well! Don't worry...I didn't swallow," she said in an update on social media, along with a photo of herself posing with a pink background.
Earlier this week, Silverstone filmed herself biting into a fruit she found in a London garden and saying, “I’ve discovered something. I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help.”
Silverstone’s video ended with her saying, “Does anyone know what this is? I don’t know what it is. I need someone to tell me, I’m in England. Thank you.”
Commenters were quick to inform Silverstone that she was eating something called a Jerusalem Cherry and it is unsafe to eat.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Jerusalem cherries are the size of a regular cherry and are highly poisonous if any part of them are consumed.
All parts of Jerusalem cherry, which is sold as a houseplant, are poisonous not only to humans but also to dogs, cats and horses, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The plant’s unripe berries can be especially dangerous, causing central nervous system and gastrointestinal symptoms, including delirium, abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, paralysis and more.
Consuming large amounts can be fatal. Silverstone was lucky because, she says, she didn’t swallow the berries, and also perhaps because the berries were reddish-orange, which indicates they were ripe.
Silverstone posted the video on TikTok Monday; it now has more than 4.5 million views.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.