# Are carrots or celery poisonous?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 13, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091 "2003-07-13T02:30:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/1 "2003-07-13T02:30:14Z")
This may sound kinda silly, but I read somewhere (long ago and far away) that either carrots or celery are very closely related to a poisonous plant. I am having no luck in finding out which vegetable has the toxic relatives due to my faulty memory. Anyone know anything about this?
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/2 "2003-07-13T02:37:43Z")
They are both in the same family as, and distantly related to the [hemlocks](http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aquatics/cicutamac.html):
> [@](#):
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> Family Apiaceae (Umbelliferaceae), the Parsley and Carrots, 2850 species in 275 genera of global distribution but mostly north temperate regions. Includes the common herbs anise, carrot, celery, coriander, dill, fennel, parsley, and parsnip, as well as the highly toxic hemlocks.
YYeah, I was surprised too.
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### Author:  [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/3 "2003-07-13T02:44:29Z")
Even if this turns out to be true, I don’t think there is much cause for alarm. Fruits that belong to the rose family (like apricots & apples) have poisonous seeds but people still eat them anyway. Some other near misses:
Avocado leaves
Castor Beans
Potato sprouts
Tomato vines
You may think that leaves and vines are not worth mentioning, but some people may be operating under the assumption that if any part of a plant is safe to eat, then _every_ part must be safe.
You may have heard something like [this](http://www.naturallyhealthypet.com/plant_toxicology.htm) which can easily be alarming if taken out of context.
> [@](#):
>
> Plant families with many alkaloid containing species include the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae), aster or composite family (Asteraceae or Compositae), lily family (Liliaceae), buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), and nightshade family (Solanaceae). Two very poisonous groups of alkaloids are in the yew family (Taxaceae) and Poison Hemlock (Conium spp.) in the celery or umbel family.
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### Author:  [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/4 "2003-07-13T03:52:47Z")
Until only one or two hundred years ago, European society (and American culture to a lesser extent) thought the tomato was poisonous. Whether this was because of its relation to the deadly nightshade family or merely its rather recent arrival on the culinary scene from the New World world is a matter of conjecture. People called it the “witch apple” or “love apple.” It was precisely this last nickname that is responsible for another old tradition.
In colonial Europe and America, the “love apple” was a (somewhat) traditional wedding gift. It was fairly common for a newly wed couple to receive a ripe red tomato that would be placed on their new home’s mantlepiece (most likely as a “fertility” gift). This practice (although fading) is still present in today’s society. Most older people at these boards will remember that if their mother sewed, she usually had a small red pin cushion in the shape of a tomato. This is its origin.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/5 "2003-07-13T05:00:02Z")
Yes, that’s the information I read so long ago. Related to the hemlock family, eh? I’ve always felt that celery and the top portion of carrots (near the greens) certainly taste like something you really shouldn’t be eating.
Well, colour me “old”, **Zenster** , cause I do remember my mom having one of those tomato-shaped pin cushions. It never occurred to me before that it was tomato-shaped; it just looked like a red blob to me as a young punk. And she _did_ have five kids - hmmmm.
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### Author:  [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/6 "2003-07-13T06:23:00Z")
I should have said, “Most mature people…”. Forgive me.
I thought the tomato anecdote might resonate with some people around here.
Carrots are also related to the anise family. It is why they have a faintly sweet flavor.
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### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/7 "2003-07-13T07:34:46Z")
My brother always ate the whole apple core and all. Can’t you buy apricot kernals to munch on
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### Author:  [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/8 "2003-07-13T13:27:50Z")
Don’t forget rhubarb leaves. Always wondered how people came to eat rhubarb.
Ag: “Ig, go eat leaves”
Ig: “munch, munch…ACk, cough, hack… thump”
Ag: “Og, look like leaves not good… go eat stem”
Og: “Up yours… me eat potato”
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### Author:  [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/9 "2003-07-13T15:18:20Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Zenster \*
> **Until only one or two hundred years ago, European society (and American culture to a lesser extent) thought the tomato was poisonous.**
Cite? Or are you just blindly repeating an old urban legend?
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/10 "2003-07-13T15:21:46Z")
The [Wikipedia](http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato) agrees with **Zenster** , in this instance.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/11 "2003-07-13T15:27:46Z")
I am not saying it’s not true but I would not give that Wikipedia article much weight. I would like to see more substantial proof.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/12 "2003-07-13T15:35:19Z")
Ok, how about the [University of Massachusetts](http://www.umass.edu/umext/mac/newsletters/spring2003.htm):
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> The English believed it was poisonous and grew it only as a curiosity in their gardens. Although tomato fruit was not poisonous, it was associated with other poisonous members of the Solanaceae family, especially deadly nightshade or “Belladonna.”
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/13 "2003-07-14T01:58:33Z")
Jeeze, that kinda breaks my heart - all those years of luscious, ripe tomatoes being thrown away because people thought they were poisonous.
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### Author:  [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/14 "2003-07-14T02:27:00Z")
Hmm. That gives a completely different connotation to calling a sexy woman a “tomato.”
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### Author:  [@FyreFiend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FyreFiend)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/15 "2003-07-14T07:00:17Z")
As others have said it’s shocking how many plants people eat are closely related to poisonous ones or have poisonous parts on the same plant that we eat.
Both my mother and father grew up very poor and out in the boonies so they had to know what in the wild was was yummy and what could make them sick or kill them and thankfully they showed me what they knew. Some of the yummy ones look a lot like the poisonous ones and if you don’t know what your doing you can easily mess ourself up.
Another thing is how some things can make you sick unless you prepare them properly. Acorns are nasty until you boil them in changes of water until the water stops turning yellowish brown.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/16 "2003-07-14T07:37:48Z")
> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by BrightNShiny \*
> \*\*Hmm. That gives a completely different connotation to calling a sexy woman a “tomato.” \*\*
Well, you gotta give all of those spudboys something to lust after, even if _nobody_ comprehends their potatoes.
😃
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/17 "2003-07-14T10:23:23Z")
Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, chili peppers, bell peppers— all of them are nightshades (_Solanaceae_). Fortunately, not deadly nightshades. Look at the stem and leaves of a deadly nightshade and you can see the physical resemblance to those food plants.
Carrot is not toxic; in fact it helps the liver function. It actually helps the liver to detoxify. It’s celery that contains some toxins. That is why it numbs the tongue slightly. That doesn’t make celery “poisonous”—too strong a word. Eating moderate amounts of celery should not be harmful to a human, but I wouldn’t pig out on it if I were you.
Cite to a .pdf file: [Examples of Biological Toxins](http://www.bacs.uq.edu.au/biosafety/forms/BiologicalToxins.pdf). Celery has “coumarins.”
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### Author:  [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/18 "2003-07-14T11:02:46Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Attrayant \*
> \*\*Some other near misses:
>
> Avocado leaves
> Castor Beans
> Potato sprouts
> Tomato vines
> \*\*
Hadn’t heard of Avocado leaves, but **rhubarb leaves** are a definite poison. One of the deadliest things in the kitchen garden.
Celery tastes poisonously awful to me 😉
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/19 "2003-07-15T03:06:47Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Attrayant \*
> \*\*Fruits that belong to the rose family (like apricots & apples) have poisonous seeds but people still eat them anyway. Some other near misses:
>
> Avocado leaves
> …
> \*\*
This surprises me. From _The Art of Mexican Cooking_ by Diana Kennedy:
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> Fresh or dried avocado leaves are used in some dishes in parts of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Morelos for tamales, for seasoning barbequed meats, or for adding to stews. The dried leaves are quickly toasted over a bare flame - they send off a wonderful fragrance. If you don’t have any available, you can always prevail upon friends who do in other parts of the country to send them, as they will keep for several months dried.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-carrots-or-celery-poisonous/188091/20 "2003-07-15T03:17:50Z")
**Jeff Lichtman** : Ah, but do they ever eat them _raw_? Cooking can destroy toxins.
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