What is this plant called? My neighbor says it's berries are poisonous. So just want to know what is in my backyard.

A picture of the whole plant would be helpful. Are there any flowers on it, or berries at the moment? edited to add - Wait, I see the berries now.

By the leaves alone I would have guessed a citrus of some sort, but not with those berries. Is it a shrub, tree or low plant? Do you remember what the flowers looked like?

What part of California are you in? Desert or seashore makes a big difference towards guessing what your plant might be.

Thanks for reply.

It look like a big shrub or may be qualify as a tree as well. I did not see flower in it, I just got house few days back so may be there were flowers before i moved in. I am in east bay in bay area.

Welcome AD AD. Pick a large "berry" and cut it in half for a photo for us. That may help. If your neighbors know it's poisonous they must know what it is? Just a thought.

It could be Strychnos nux-vomica, the Strychnine Tree.

http://fall11ethnobotany.provi...

Incredible. So was the previous owner a sports cheat, constipated, or a serial killer? Very interesting article Zuzu.

That is an interesting article. I googled Strychnos nux-vomita and the venation in the leaves doesn't match this tree at all to my eyes.

Leslie, so funny.

I noticed the unique venation pattern in all of the botanical drawings of this plant in Google images, but it isn't as apparent in the photos, and some of the photos look very much like akumarer's photos.

According to the Wiki article, the leaves are opposite on Strychnos nux-vomita.

The leaves are quite different ..



Interestingly, there is someone posting a plant with similar fruits but which has leaf venation similar to the ID plant.

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

That's what I noticed, Janet, so the plant is either highly variable or easily misidentified.

I think easily misidentified zuzu.

Look at the leaves on this Lemon tree ..

http://www.moonvalleynurseries...

I think this is a type of citrus. The fruit shape is similar to Tangelo, a cross between grapefruit and tangerine.

http://www.moonvalleynurseries...

I can't find a decent shot of the leaves.

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

Very convincing, but what about those "poisonous berries"? The neighbor could be mistaken, I suppose.

Neighbours are often wrong! A bitter fruit could be seen as 'poisonous'.

Look at Citrus aurantium leaves (not the same leaf as it has 'wings' on the petiole) .. on the site is also Citrus maxima, both bitter. I can't get the same link so you have to go from google. The venation is similar.

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

It does look a bit like a small lemon fruit, and the new twig looks right. Ad Ad didn't mention any thorns, but there are a few citrus that don't have any. After looking at the original post, the fruits appear to be on long stems. That rules out any citrus I'm familiar with. A cut fruit might give some help.

The fruit or drupes on this are in clusters on a long inflo very un-citrus like. I've been looking and could find nothing poisonous that is similar. I did find a tree with similarities.
Edit to add and L in inflo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Lemon fruits have no shorter stems than those on the ID plant ..

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

Leaf ..

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

That could be a possiblity, Leslieray.

The "fruit" growing in a long cluster look closer match also. Nothing poisonous mentioned so far as I could find for the genera but I can see how it could be ID'd as Strychnos too. We need a few more details for sure.

The leaf venation isn't right for Terminalia chebula

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp...