Deathberries

"Look but don't touch. That's yew. The berries are so poisonous they are called deathberries. Even one could kill you."

— Cinderpaw to Cloudkit in Forest of Secrets, page 85

Deathberries
General information
Primary color	Bright red
Scientific name	Taxus baccata
Location	Found in ThunderClan's forest and lake territories. They also grow in the mountains, but not in SkyClan's gorge. A sterile yew bush forms the ThunderClan apprentices' den by the lake.
Usage	Kills a cat within minutes when consumed. Can be used on extremely ill cats to prevent a lingering death. However, if the flesh of the berry is used, with the seed carefully removed, it can cure an infection without death.
Book appearances
Appearances	Forest of Secrets, The Darkest Hour

Deathberries, also known by Twolegs as yew berries, are a type of poisonous fruit resembling red olives. Deathberries come from the dark-leaved yew bush and are characterized by their glossy, bright red color. They are referred to as night-seeds by the Tribe of Rushing Water.

The seeds of the fruit can kill a cat within minutes and are also poisonous to most other animals including Twolegs. A common antidote to the poison is feeding the consumer yarrow to induce vomiting. The red flesh of the fruit is harmless and can be consumed to treat serious degrees of infection.

Victims

Yellowfang after killing Brokentail

«Brokentail's jaws parted in a cry of shock and fear. Fireheart thought he could hear regret there, too, but the blind warrior was unable to put words to it. His limbs thrashed and his paws scrabbled in the dust; his chest heaved as he fought for air.»

—Fireheart watching Brokentail die ^{Forest of Secrets, page 294}

The following is a chronological list of poisonings and deaths caused by deathberries:

• Brokentail
• Sorrelkit (Recovered)
• Sparrowpelt (Recovered)
• Shadowsight (Recovered)

History

In The Prophecies Begin arc

Forest of Secrets

Cinderpaw saving Cloudkit

"I fed you deathberries. I know this is your last life, Brokentail. Medicine cats always know. Now no cat will ever be hurt again because of you."

―Yellowfang to Brokentail ^{Forest of Secrets, page 294}

When Cloudkit is out looking for herbs with Fireheart and Cinderpaw, he finds some deathberries and is about to eat them. Cinderpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, stops him from an almost-certain death by knocking him away from the berries.

Yellowfang feeds three deathberries to a blinded Brokentail, because she knows he is on his last life. Fireheart recognizes the berries but is unable to warn Brokentail in time, leaving him writhing in pain for several minutes before they kill him. Fireheart watches his death from afar, showing him just how deadly they can be.

The Darkest Hour

"I thought [Darkstripe] would be angry because I spied on him, but he told me how clever I was. He gave me some red berries for a special treat. They looked tasty, but when I ate them I started to feel really ill. . . . And I don't remember anything else, except waking up here."

―Sorrelkit to Firestar ^{The Darkest Hour, pages 112-113}

When Sorrelkit overhears Darkstripe talking to Blackfoot, Darkstripe feeds her deathberries to keep her quiet. Yarrow serves as an antidote by causing her to vomit up the deathberries. After Sorrelkit wakes up and recounts Darkstripe's actions, the warrior is then exiled from the Clan, but promises revenge.

In The New Prophecy arc

Moonrise

"I know all the herbs and berries that grow in these mountains. And none of that knowledge is any use to protect the Tribe. Sharptooth is too strong. Not even your deathberries will defeat him."

―Stoneteller to the Clan cats ^{Moonrise, pages 262-263}

Leafpaw accidentally runs into a yew bush while chasing a mouse. While searching for a puddle to rinse herself in, Sorreltail recounts how she was poisoned by Darkstripe as a kit.

Deathberries hidden in a rabbit is the first tactic used to kill Sharptooth, thought up by Squirrelpaw, in order to stop his reign of terror over the Tribe of Rushing Water. This plot fails to kill him, as he does not take the bait and instead tries to attack the living cats, but he is later killed by a falling stalactite, along with Feathertail.

In the Power of Three arc

Eclipse

At the Moonpool, on the night of the half moon, Littlecloud offers advice to Leafpool about using deathberries in the medicine den. He says that ShadowClan uses them to end a would-be prolonged or suffered death of a sick or grievously wounded cat. Leafpool politely declines the offer, but Jaypaw is intrigued by the idea of holding a cat's life in his own paws. Leafpool says that the moment of death is up to StarClan

Sunrise

"And you expect me to forgive you? Well, I don't. I never will. See those deathberries? You're going to eat them—or I'll make you!"

―Hollyleaf to Leafpool ^{Sunrise, page 310}

Leafpool and Jayfeather gather deathberries and stuff a dead mouse full of them. They put the mouse near the rocks where Honeyfern was killed, in an attempt to lure and kill the snake. Leafpool explains to the kits and apprentices how deadly the berries are and how they must never touch them. This plan fails in withdrawing the snake from its hiding place, though it does not appear again.

Hollyleaf, after revealing to all four Clans at the Gathering that she, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather are the kits of Leafpool and Crowfeather, confronts the medicine cat in her den and threatens to force Leafpool to eat deathberries. Leafpool reasons with her, saying that she has lost her kits, her one love, and her calling as a medicine cat. She asks Hollyleaf which would be easier, to die or to go on living. Hollyleaf lets her go, knowing she will be more anguished living.

In the A Vision of Shadows arc

The Raging Storm

«Had the deathberries cured the rabbit? Perhaps eating the flesh and leaving the seeds had given it just enough poison to kill the infection without killing the rabbit. Could it be true? His dream flashed in his mind once more. The fire hadn't killed the forest; a meadow had blossomed in its path. It was a sign! Alderheart stiffened with excitement. If I feed deathberries to Puddleshine, they won't kill him. They'll save him!»

—Alderheart's thoughts ^{The Raging Storm, chapter 4}

Alderheart sees a rabbit eat the flesh of a deathberry and later recover from illness. This gives him the idea to use the deathberry flesh to cure Puddleshine of a serious infection that has ravaged his system after receiving many cuts from barbed wire. Tigerstar is initially against it, but the treatment works.

The seeds Alderheart removed and buried in ShadowClan are used by Juniperclaw to poison SkyClan's fresh-kill, almost killing Sparrowpelt.

In The Broken Code arc

Veil of Shadows

«Shadowsight was shocked by how fast the berry worked. Almost at once he felt waves of heat sweeping through him. His throat tightened and he choked, struggling to breathe. Darkness swirled around him, and he felt himself falling.»

—Shadowsight's thoughts ^{Veil of Shadows, page 238}

Shadowsight eats a deathberry in order to bring himself close to death so he can search for Bramblestar's spirit. He enters a state similar to his earlier experience of being a ghost and is able to quickly travel to the Moonpool by envisioning it. He then enters the Dark Forest and finds Bramblestar before Puddleshine feeds him yarrow, forcing him to vomit up the berry and reviving him before he can finish speaking with the ghost.

Darkness Within

When trying to come up with ideas to kill Bramblestar's impostor, Mothwing suggests giving him deathberries, but the leaders disagree, claiming that Ashfur should die a real warrior's death.

In the Super Editions

Yellowfang's Secret

In the comic, Yellowfang has a bad dream where she relives killing Brokentail with deathberries.

In the Field Guides

Secrets of the Clans

Deathberries are mentioned in the Important Medicines and their Uses section. They are described to be red berries that are fatally poisonous to kits, warriors, and elders.

The Ultimate Guide

On Yellowfang and Brokenstar's pages, it is mentioned that Yellowfang fed her son deathberries in order to kill him.

Gallery

Deathberries on the cover of The Prophecies Begin, volume 2

Deathberries in The Prophecies Begin, volume 2

Deathberries in Yellowfang's Secret

Deathberries in The Prophecies Begin, volume 3

See also

• Medicine