Edible or not? Alicia Silverstone’s misstep shows how toxic lookalikes can fool you

Alicia Silverstone worried fans this week when she posted a TikTok clip of herself nibbling a poisonous berry she found along a sidewalk on a trip to England. The “Clueless” actor said she thought the fruit might have been a tomato, but realized it wasn’t after a couple bites revealed an off-tasting, peppery flavor.

That tomato lookalike seems to have been a Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum), which, along with actual tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, potatoes and tomatillos, is a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family. Although the fruits (and potato tuber) of those crops are safe to eat, their foliage can be toxic.