Also known as manioc and yuca, this versatile tuber is a staple throughout much of its native South America and in parts of Africa and Asia and is also the source of tapioca.
Eggplant is a member of the nightshade family, and like other family members contains solanine, a bitter-tasting steroidal compound.
There are more than 130 varieties of green beans, and they are generally considered a very healthful vegetable, full of vitamins A, C, and K.
Limas sold commercially in the United States are required by law to have lower levels of the compound than those grown elsewhere, though, and thorough cooking neutralizes the poison.
Consuming too much of this compound can cause a variety of gastrointestinal and neurological problems, including nausea, diarrhea, arrhythmia, dizziness, hallucinations, paralysis, and hypothermia.
Rhubarb stalks, which look like overgrown red celery, make a delicious pie and other desserts, but it’s very important to trim every bit of leaf from the stalks before you use them.
Many of us have eaten raw spinach salads with no ill effects. But spinach, like rhubarb leaves, contains oxalic acid, which limits calcium absorption and may facilitate the formation of kidney stones.