Poisonous Trees

Q: In my work as a lawyer, I am familiar with a legal search and seizure doctrine known as “The fruit of the poisonous tree.”

If the police do an illegal search, any evidence they are led to as a result of that search must be excluded from the evidence at trial as poisonous fruits of the search.

After a couple of decades of dealing with this, it just occurred to me to wonder if there are, indeed, poisonous trees?

A: How about the “poisonous seed of the edible fruit”?

Apple and peach seed contain small amounts of cyanide and could be considered poisonous.

How would you like “Stomach pain, constipation and later bloody diarrhea, excessive thirst and urination”?
Eat some un-prepared acorns and that could be the result.

Certainly cherry tree leaves and all parts of yew are toxic.

My best reference is Poisonous Plants of North Carolina, which contains a panoply of poisonous plants…..almost makes me want to stay indoors and observe my garden from safety!

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