Humans and animals have eaten from plants and trees for millions of years. But not all plants are safe. Do you know what you can and can't eat?
Some plants are toxic. These plants will hurt you if you touch or eat them.
Poison oak is a dangerous plant. It grows in North America. If you touch poison oak, it will make your skin itchy. You might see red spots and a rash on your arm.
Belladonna grows in Europe, Africa and Asia. If you eat a belladonna berry, you will feel sick. You might become ill. You might throw up or have a bad stomach ache.
Belladonna means beautiful woman in Italian. Women ate the berries because it made their eyes bigger. They thought they looked beautiful. But it was not safe. That was a long time ago. Nobody does this now.
Some plants have poison inside like insects. Stinging bush grows in Australia. If you touch stinging bush, little hairs on the leaves will poison you. You might feel a lot of pain in your body where the hairs touched you.
People who have been stung say it is painful. They say it is like being stung by 30 wasps. They say you cannot escape the pain. It doesn't sound nice!
Some people are allergic to normal plants and trees. When there is lots of pollen in the air, some people feel ill. They sneeze a lot. They have red eyes.
This is because of the pollen in the air. This is called hay fever.
It is important to know which plants are safe. It is important to know which plants are not safe. Don't touch a plant if you don't know what it is.