What we really need is to get rid of spines and thorns in blackberry bushes.
this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2025
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we already have thornless blackberry varieties...
I'd have so many blackberry bushes in the backyard if they stopped trying to eat my hands!
Why can't they use genetic engineering to make a tree that can absorb like 100x more CO2 than any other tree? Like, are they even trying?
A certain amount of bitter is needed to fend off the insects.
I guess it's just a choice of what kind and what amount of bitterness is in the plants.
Maybe you can remove the original poison and replace it with a different kind of poison that's non-toxic to humans, but still fends of other potential eaters.
Just floating ideas here, but maybe a type of poison exists that can be deactivated by cooking the plants? That way, it could be eaten by humans, but would still fend off other invaders.
Try the impossible™ nightshade salad
Nightshade salad is just salsa
If you're really looking to spit in the eyes of Death:
Mince some destroying angel and deadly webcap and cook into a nice mushroom ranch, sliver some bitter almonds and untreated cashew nuts over a nice hemlock cress with some of the shaved hemlock roots mixed in. Mix in thinly sliced manchineel apple and add belladonna berries on the top for additional sweetness. From what I understand, all of those actually taste pretty decent, so without the deadly poisons this'd be a bomb salad.
But wouldn’t that change the flavor? You wouldn’t get the authentic experience that way.
My chemistry prof would repeat over and over that "bitter is poison". Bitter is one of my favorite flavor types, after spicy. If I lived before the internet I totally would have died after eating a tasty salad of poison xD
Dose makes the poison. Most bitter flavors (that you eat) aren't really meant to discourage you from eating them, it's really meant for insects.
Plant: I will make an unappetizing flavor to prevent myself from getting eaten
Humans: finally, some good fucking food
And that's how allium and cabbage conquered the world
Almonds over here telling everyone that the poison plant is totally fine and tasty! xD
I agree though bitter is part of the spice of life and a very good flavor