Are Lathyrus pea pods edible?

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KirstenTex Elizabeth, CO Sep 11, 2014

My neighbor has a huge, climbing bush that has been on her property for years (I just moved next to her) It has classic pink blooms of a Lathyrus and tons of pea pods--are they edible? Thanks! Kirsten

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Farmerdill Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) Sep 11, 2014

No. Sweet peas (Lathyrus) are toxic.

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KirstenTex Elizabeth, CO Sep 12, 2014

Very, very good to know! They literally have hundreds ready to pick, and I did taste a few (they were delicious) but I won't anymore!

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behillman Plantersville, TX(Zone 9a) Sep 14, 2014

I have lots of wild grass & woods near my house. There are these bushes that have black berries that look like Elderberry. The leaves look like miniture poison ivy leaves, they have five sides to them . Since I am terribly allergic, I will not try these berries. But I would love to have some elderberries. I did taste a little of the juice & its very sweet. Does anyone know about these berries?

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brendak654 Anna, IL(Zone 6b) Sep 16, 2014

Elderberries - My hubby and I enjoy gathering elderberries when they are ripe and I like to can them into juice for winter. We don't like the juice straight - it is better, to our likes, by adding half Welches Grape Juice. Hubby loves the jelly from the elderberries. I have also used them to make apple elderberry pie.

We planted a row in our garden, but the bulk of the harvest comes from the wild.

Prime harvest here was late August. The birds LOVE the berries - too.

If you are trying to identify the plant, my suggestion would be to Google it.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.........

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Sep 21, 2014

Elderberries grow on a tree, Sambucus nigra mostly, though other species can be used. There are some lesser known shrubs that are related, and bear fruit, too.
There are several species from different parts of the world, and the 'lumpers' and 'splitters' are still arguing over exactly which is which.
Be careful about eating any of them. Sambucus nigra is the most edible, but should be cooked, other species do need to be cooked if they are edible at all.

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sheepwrecked Lake Lynn, PA(Zone 6a) Mar 23, 2015

A very good information source on whether a plant is edible, poisonous, or won't hurt you but isn't worth eating, is the Eattheweeds website by Green Deane. Rather than copy and paste stuff from other websites or blogs, he has actually eaten the plants he lists as edible, and he describes how he picks and prepares them. Easily found online. All sweetpeas and perennial sweetpeas, the ones with no scent that you see along the highway sometimes, are toxic.

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