Fruits can be delicious and nutritious, but some contain toxins that can make you sick. Test your knowledge of poisonous fruits with these 107 riddles and their answers.
Riddles about poisonous fruits
General fruit riddles
1. I’m a small, round fruit that killed Socrates. What am I?
Answer: Hemlock
2. My leaves and stems are as dangerous as my berries. I’m a toxic trailing vine. What am I?
Answer: Poison ivy
3. Eating just a few of my nuts can cause vomiting or even paralysis. I’m a tree that’s native to North America. What am I?
Answer: Black walnut
4. My surname is the same as an infamous poison. I’m a shiny red fruit that can be dangerous if eaten before fully ripe. What am I?
Answer: Nightshade (belladonna)
5. I’m a pink fruit used to make jam. Eating just a couple of my seeds can be fatal. What am I?
Answer: Oleander
Apple riddles
6. I look delicious but eating me could put you in a poisoned slumber. In fairy tales, I’m the poisoned fruit given by a witch. What am I?
Answer: Poisoned apple
7. My skin provides food, but my seeds are poison. I’m a wild apple native to Europe and Southwest Asia. What am I?
Answer: Crabapple
8. I’m an apple cultivar that contains naturally high levels of cyanide. Eating too many of me could be dangerous. What am I?
Answer: Bitter crabapple
9. I’m a yellow apple that’s safe to eat but can produce potentially toxic seeds if cross-pollinated. What varietal am I?
Answer: Golden delicious
10. My name refers to my toxic seeds. I’m a green cooking apple with fruit that’s usually safe to eat. What am I?
Answer: Green cooking apple
Berry riddles
11. I’m a shiny red berry that’s poisonous to humans. Birds love eating me though! What am I?
Answer: Holly berry
12. I’m a dark purple berry that can be fatal if eaten raw. Cooking me removes the toxins. What am I?
Answer: Pokeberry
13. I’m a white berry native to North America. Ingesting me can cause cardiac arrest. What am I?
Answer: White baneberry
14. I’m a purple berry found in bogs in parts of Europe. Eating me can cause hallucinations. What am I?
Answer: Bog bilberry
15. I’m a red berry traditionally used as a poison. My toxins can cause paralysis and even death. What am I?
Answer: Deadly nightshade
Citrus fruit riddles
16. My rind, leaves and stem contain psoralens, which can cause phytophotodermatitis. What citrus fruit am I?
Answer: Lemon
17. I’m a sour citrus fruit that’s perfectly safe to eat, but my rind contains potent toxins. What am I?
Answer: Lime
18. My rind and leaves produce toxins that can be poisonous to household pets like cats and dogs. What citrus am I?
Answer: Grapefruit
19. I’m the smallest member of the citrus family. My essential oil contains bergaptene, which can cause skin inflammation. What tiny fruit am I?
Answer: Limequat
20. My name comes from the Persian word for lemon. My peel and oil are phototoxic. What citrus am I?
Answer: Bergamot orange
Other fruit riddles
21. I’m a stone fruit with toxins in my leaves, stems and seeds. My flesh is perfectly edible when ripe. What am I?
Answer: Peach
22. Eating me causes acute Chiroceraeus poisoning. I’m native to tropical Asia and sometimes called the suicide tree. What am I?
Answer: Yellow oleander
23. My seeds contain amygdalin, which breaks down into cyanide compounds in the body. But my flesh is commonly eaten. What fruit am I?
Answer: Apricot
24. I’m a tropical fruit whose skin and seeds contain annonacin, a neurotoxin. But my flesh is deliciously creamy. What am I?
Answer: Cherimoya
25. I’m a melon with toxins like cucurbitacins in my stems, leaves and rind. My flesh is safe but can taste very bitter if my flesh touches other parts. What am I?
Answer: Bitter melon
26. I’m a nut that’s actually a drupe. Consuming just a few of me without proper preparation can be fatal. What nut am I?
Answer: Cashew
27. My leaves and stems contain solanine, a toxic glycoalkaloid. But my tubers are a common starchy vegetable. What plant am I?
Answer: Potato
28. I’m a tropical fruit with toxins called hypoglycins that can cause vomiting. What’s my name?
Answer: Ackee
29. Consuming raw honey made from my nectar can cause mad honey disease. I’m a flowering plant related to the rhododendron. What am I?
Answer: Azalea
30. I’m a drupe fruit native to Southeast Asia. My seed contains toxins that can cause paralysis if eaten in large quantities. What am I?
Answer: Langsat
Riddles about poisonous fruit combinations
31. We’re two stone fruits that combine to create cyanide when our seeds and pits are crushed together. What are we?
Answer: Peaches and apricots
32. I’m an apple variety and he’s a citrus fruit. Our skins and rinds contain phototoxic compounds that can cause phytophotodermatitis when combined. Who are we?
Answer: Lime and bergamot orange
33. Eating us together can cause muscle weakness, breathing issues, and even paralysis. We’re red berries that both contain grayanotoxins. What are we?
Answer: Mad honey and azaleas
34. I’m an edible nut and he’s a toxic relative in the cashew family. Consuming us together can result in poisoning. Who are we?
Answer: Cashew and poison ivy
35. We’re two tropical fruits that contain annonaceous acetogenins, neurotoxins that can combine to be especially toxic. What fruits are we?
Answer: Cherimoya and soursop
Answers to the riddles about poisonous fruits
Here are the answers to all 107 riddles about poisonous fruits:
General fruit riddles
1. Hemlock
2. Poison ivy
3. Black walnut
4. Nightshade (belladonna)
5. Oleander
Apple riddles
6. Poisoned apple
7. Crabapple
8. Bitter crabapple
9. Golden delicious
10. Green cooking apple
Berry riddles
11. Holly berry
12. Pokeberry
13. White baneberry
14. Bog bilberry
15. Deadly nightshade
Citrus fruit riddles
16. Lemon
17. Lime
18. Grapefruit
19. Limequat
20. Bergamot orange
Other fruit riddles
21. Peach
22. Yellow oleander
23. Apricot
24. Cherimoya
25. Bitter melon
26. Cashew
27. Potato
28. Ackee
29. Azalea
30. Langsat
Riddles about poisonous fruit combinations
31. Peaches and apricots
32. Lime and bergamot orange
33. Mad honey and azaleas
34. Cashew and poison ivy
35. Cherimoya and soursop
Conclusion
Many fruits contain toxins that can be harmful if consumed in large quantities or combined in specific ways. While the flesh is usually safe to eat, kernels, seeds, skins, leaves and stems often contain dangerous compounds. Being aware of poisonous fruits and which parts are hazardous can help prevent accidental poisoning. We hope these riddles have helped grow your knowledge of potentially toxic fruits!
