After the woodman was finished dumping off a truck load of firewood, I noticed that a few of the logs rolled away to the edge of the woods. Here, one lodged against the base of a couple of Smooth Solomon’s Seal plants, Polygonatum biflorum. I was delighted to see so many of the berries still intact.
Dark blue berries dangle from the arching single stem. Oval, linear leaves alternate from side to side, each being connected to the main stem directly. This type of stalkless leaf, one without a stem of its own, is called sessile.
The berries were about a half-inch in diameter. This surprised me for some reason. I thought they’d be small and delicate like their greenish-white flowers. See an earlier post on the Solomon’s Seals flowers.
ARE SOLAMAN BERRYS EATABLE
Sorry Dan, the blue-black berries are inedible. However, the young shoots and rootstock of Solomon’s Seal are edible provided that they’re boiled for 10 minutes. Older shoots and leaves are too bitter to consume.
The berries of False Solomon’s Seal are edible. These are the ones grouped at the tip of the plant that are speckled translucent red. They taste like that kid’s drink, “Hi-C!”. Check this post to see the red berries of False Solomon’s Seal. (Scroll down on that page to see the red berries.)