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| Is Forsythia poisonous? |
Named after Scottish botanist William Forsyth (1737 – 25 July 1804), the genus Forsythia has been a popular garden plant in northern European gardens for almost two centuries now. And why wouldn't it be? It is one of the earliest and most spectacular ornamental flowering shrubs commonly available, particularly if you have a passion for yellow, and robust in nature. However, a situation may occur, presumably with a pet or farm animal, where you may need to know if Forsythia is indeed poisonous?
Forsythia is in the olive family Oleaceae which is strong clue to its toxicity - in that it isn't considered particularly toxic. In fact the species Forsythia suspensa is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Chinese herbology, the fruit of which used for the treatment of bronchiolitis, tonsillitis, sore throat, fever, gonorrhea and general inflammation.Whether Forsythia is an effective treatment of such conditions remains to be proven.
For those interested in foraging, Forsythia flowers are in fact considered edible, though not necessarily tasty with some believing that the blooms are able to produce lactose (the milk sugar). Rarely produced in other natural sources except milk, the presence of lactose Forsythia flowers has yet to be confirmed by the scientific community so this may be nothing more than an old wives tale.
The new foliage of Forsythia are also eaten by foragers as a salad leaf. However these leaves contain Phillyrin, an endophytic fungal isolate with anti-obesity activity, and it’s not yet clear how much of this you can ingest safely.
For related articles click onto the following links:
CAN YOU CUT FORSYTHIA TO THE GROUND?
HOW TO PRUNE CAMELLIASHOW TO PRUNE FUCHSIAS
HOW TO PRUNE IVY
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