/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.4610284]

Let's say You find yourself in a lush ecosystem. You have no idea of local botany, but you need to eat and drink. How do you go about figuring out what isn't poisonous?

[Anonymous No.4610311]

Eat something. If you get poisonous side effects, don't eat it.

[Anonymous No.4610356]

>>4610311

that was sort of the most obvious answer, but thanks.

I was hoping there would be something more refined, such as "avoid shiney animals, seek out/avoid shiney fruits/pods" or so

[Anonymous No.4610362]

>>4610356

Start with mammals and birds. If we assume this eco system is anything like our own they are the least likely to be poisonous.

[Anonymous No.4610379]

>>4610362

Thank you, anon!

Is there any specific reason for that, by the way?

[Anonymous No.4610390]

If you have any questions about eating edible plants or animals, rub the leaves or berry juice on your lips to see if there is any irritation within 1 hour.

if not, move to chewing the berries and plants, (but don't swallow) and wait 1 hour to see if there is any adverse reaction.

basic survival 101

[Anonymous No.4610399]

>>4610362

Not really. The most plausible reason is that these are just efficient predators/prey and thus can kill faster/get the fuck away than they would by waiting for the victim to die from poisoning/the assailant to eat them and kick the bucket.

Certainly some mammals are venomous (lol platypus) but it just seems that given the particular history of life on Earth venomousness did not seem to provide mammals and birds a discernible advantage. They had plenty of other tools. You will notice that large reptiles are rarely poisonous too. They don't need it.

[Anonymous No.4610400]

Find an animal, capture it and then feed it whatever you can find. If it dies, then avoid that which you fed it. If it survives, continue feeding it to be sure of the edibility of whatever you fed it.

[Anonymous No.4610409]

>>4610399
What are you doing?
Other guy:
>Mamals and birds are less likely to be poisonous
You:
>That's wrong, because there is a reason for that.

[Anonymous No.4610413]

>>4610400
Yes because other animals can't be resistant to things that kill us.

[Anonymous No.4610416]

>>4610356

In the basic animal world, avoid anything that has bright colors and attracts your attention. Those animals tend to be poisonous or dangerous.

[Anonymous No.4610417]

>>4610413
>Your method isn't foolproof, so you might as well not do it.
Good luck in a survival situation bro.

[Anonymous No.4610418]

Eat the flesh of mammals and birds, but not their organs.

Birds' eggs are also 100% safe from poison.

Anyone who says different is herp.

Don't go on what animals can eat. Plenty of things are poisonous to us that some animal can eat.

[Anonymous No.4610420]

>>4610417
It's not just flawed, its completely unreliable.

[Anonymous No.4610423]

When eating the flesh of animals, make sure you cook it very well as many parasites dwell in the muscle fiber of its host.

Pork is notorious for this.

[Anonymous No.4610426]

>>4610413

it's quite possible, but how likely?

unlikely enough to be worth the effort?

[Anonymous No.4610427]

>>4610420
Specific animals can eat specific poisonous plants.
There are not animals that are immume for all poisons.
For example, most birds can poisonous berries, most mammals cannot.

[Anonymous No.4610428]

>>4610409

That's because I was meant to quote >>4610379

[Anonymous No.4610429]

>>4610420
The greatest method is the one with the lowest probability of resulting in death. In the end, no method will be entirely reliable.

[Anonymous No.4610430]

>>4610428
That does make more sense.

[Anonymous No.4610433]

thank you, anons

[Anonymous No.4610437]

>>4610284
Let me give you a rule of thumb:
Brightly colored things are more likely to be poisonous.

[Anonymous No.4610441]

>>4610437

[Anonymous No.4610451]

>>4610441
It's a rule of thumb.

[Anonymous No.4610455]

>>4610451
>strawberry.jpg
>apple.jpg
>almost any fruit.jpg

[Anonymous No.4610458]

>>4610455
>>4610437

I guess there's a difference between plants and animals in that respect, since plants want to attract in order to proliferate, while animals want to deter from assault...

[Anonymous No.4610459]

>>4610437
I think you'll be fine with most fruits, its just the berries you have to watch out for.

[Anonymous No.4610464]

>>4610441
>tomato
>not a deadly nightshade

You can't troll me, senor

[Anonymous No.4610465]

>>4610458
Then I agree.
Although berries might still be an example. They want to attract birds, not mammals. Birds and some berries have coevolved in a way that those berries are poisonous to most animals, except (some) birds.

[Anonymous No.4610468]

NOLS grad, SERE grad, PCSAR member here.

1. Take suspected plant, rub on inside of elbow or wrist, wait 1hr if no itching/ill effect, move to next step
2. Take small amount, rub on inside of cheek, wait one hour if no ill effect, move on to next step
3. Chew small amount of plant, spit out, wait one hour, if no ill effect, move on
4. Chew and swallow small amount of plant, wait 8 hours, if no ill effect, plant is safe to eat as prepared

Note: Some plants are poisonous raw, but fine cooked, you have to repeat these steps every time you try a new preparation of said plant/fruit.

[Anonymous No.4610477]

>>4610468

Also, some plants are fine in some seasons, poisonous in others. There is also a difference between something being edible and something being palatable, for instance, cat-tail tubers are quite tender and delicious in spring, but in fall are tough, stringy, and lacking nutrition.

The key to the above steps is that you are using very, very small amounts of any given plant. To be even safer, on the last "chew and swallow" step, increase the amount you consume incrementally over the course of a few days, keeping track of the amount, and any ill effects. Some plants you can consume a little bit and feel fine, but if you eat a handful, you'll be shitting yourself to death.

Basically, always stick to known plants, if you must try something else, always stick to this testing scheme. Believe it or not, there are a lot more edible plants than poisonous ones, but there are not many edible and palatable plants.

Also, when in doubt, boil a given plant for at least 10min.

[Anonymous No.4610811]

>>4610426
Too likely to warrant the risk would be my knee jerk response.

Examples such as dogs and onions, and more pharmacologically, cats and paracetamol (acetaminophen).

[Anonymous No.4610840]

Eat plants that have some other obvious deterrence to herbivores.
Hard outer shells, thorns, etc.
The more energy intense that defense mechanism is, the less likely is that the plant evolved an additional defense mechanism in the form of poison.

The same is true of animals in some lesser extend.

[Anonymous No.4610852]

>>4610441

Although it's clear you're trying to rustle some jimmies, almost everything in Solanaceae is poisonous except tomatoes and some peppers. A lot of that is due to domestication.

Berries are best avoided because they have usually evolved to discourage mammals and encourage birds (or the ecosystem's equivalent).

Larger fruits like apples, pineapples, etc. are a better bet because they likely evolved to take advantage of mammal-like species.

All bets are off if you're in an alien ecosystem though.

[Anonymous No.4610855]

Avoid bitter tasting things. Most active alkaloids have a bitter taste to them

[Anonymous No.4612273]

>>4610852
>All bets are off if you're in an alien ecosystem though.
On the other hand, potential poisons will not have evolved as a weapon against your type of species, but against local types.
Arbitrary chemicals are bad for you, but usually not on a short term.

[Anonymous No.4612304]

1. Touch potential food. If there's no rash or irritation after 5 minutes;
2. Taste a tiny amount on the tongue. If it's bitter, spit it out and discard. If not, and there's no rash or irritation after 5 minutes;
3. Place a slightly larger amount in the corner of the mouth. If there's no rash or irritation after 5 minutes;
4. Ingest a small amount. If you aren't sick or have the runs after a few hours, it can be considered safe to eat.

This should be used in conjunction with other methods of poison detection, e.g. shape and texture of potential food. If you doubt it whatsoever, don't go near it.

[Anonymous No.4612805]

Get a squirrel and make him eat the berries.

[Anonymous No.4612917]

>>4612304

i would add a 1.5 to that list, which is to rub a small amount on the lips.