North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Ginda Fisher <ginda@concentric.net>]

Bradford pears are not edible, unless you are a small bird.  Neither is barberry, for that matter, although I've seen it used quite effectively as a privacy hedge.

(Yes, I've popped fruit from both in my mouth, just to see.  Neither is remotely worth eating.  I suppose if the fruits were 8 times as big, it might be worth cooking them to remove the flavor. . .)

I grant that some edible plants can be invasive, and we would be most responsible by recognizing that and using care in choosing our plants with respect for the environment, and not just for our own pleasure.  I worried about this when importing some west coast huckleberries (although they seem so barely hardy that I'm no longer concerned.)  But it's hardly fair of you to accuse a "fruit explorer" group of propagating invasive plants that don't even have useful fruit.

Peace,
Ginda

On Saturday, August 31, 2002, at 08:35 PM, Mike Levine wrote:

>  
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Denny Davidson
> To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
> Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2002 10:43 AM
> Subject: [NAFEX] VEGETERIAN
>  
> You asked...
>  
> ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT PROPIGATING APPLES ETC MAY NOT BE ETHICAL? THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVEN'T CONSIDERED..  WOW...DENNIS DAVIDSON ZONE 5 N. ILLINOIS
<snip>
>   Someone also had also mentioned something about the rootstocks of bradford pears have been spreading around the New England States...
>  
> Mike Levine
> Ann Arbor, MI