Watch this spice! Chilli plant on display at village fair turns out to be potentially lethal Chinese lantern shrub... also known as the 'devil's berries'
It was one of the hottest tickets at a village fair where all manner of herbs and spices were available to buy.
But it now seems that the chilli plant on offer at the show was in fact a potentially lethal Chinese lantern shrub.
An urgent recall has been sent out for the plant – also known as 'devil's berries' – following the Largo and Newburn Horticultural Society fair in Fife.
It seems that the chilli plant on offer at the show was in fact a potentially lethal Chinese lantern shrub
Although the fruit can be eaten when ripe, the unripe Chinese lantern berries are 'highly toxic' and 'possibly fatal' with experts saying it is difficult to tell when they are safe to eat.
Ian Cameron, from the society, said: 'This is to notify anyone who... bought what we were told were Chinese chillies.
'These plants were in fact Chinese lanterns.
'The fruit of this plant is edible when fully ripe but the rest of the plant is poisonous. Please be careful.'
NHS Fife has put out a notice in an attempt to alert those affected.
Unripe berries and the leaves of the plant are poisonous to both humans and animals, but their dried pods are often used as floral decoration by growers.
The attractive, bright orange seed pods of Chinese lanterns (Physalis alkekengi) are poisonous
Diana Grant, a member of the Royal Horticultural Society, explained symptoms can include a headache as well as stomach problems, 'a low temperature, dilated pupils, breathing problems and numbness'.
'The attractive, bright orange seed pods of Chinese lanterns (Physalis alkekengi) are poisonous, and the unripe berries can be highly toxic and possibly fatal (although the ripe fruit is edible)', she explained.
The Largo and Newburn Horticultural Society did not respond to a request for comment.