I used to pick up carob bean pods off the sidewalk.
My mother told me to drop the carob immediatly, and my mother told me that the carob beans were poisonous.
I looked up the latin name for carob beans.
The latin name is Ceratonia siliqua.
Is Ceratonia siliqua poisonous?
I saw a youtube video saying that dog treats can be made from carob.
No, they’re not poisonous. Carob beans are edible and widely eaten, in particular as a disappointing chocolate substitute as well as a thickener (locust bean gum) derived from the seeds. Of course, some carob beans - particularly ones not intended for consumption - may have had pesticides sprayed on them.
Your mother may have been thinking of castor beans, which are quite poisonous.
No, they are not poisonous. Allow me to assume that your mother was trying to say that they could be poisonous because they grow near a road and therefore can contain lead and other toxic chemicals that can do long-term damage, but could not explain. Or maybe she really thought they were poisonous.
