Common Poison Plants Inside and Outside Your Home
Beware, there are many house, yard, and garden plants which are poisonous.
The most innocent looking, even the most beautiful plant in the garden, window sill or yard may be a potential killer or cause serious illness if eaten - and children are frequent victims.
Most youngsters who are tempted to sniff, taste, or swallow these plants, are dangerously unaware of the poisons contained in them. A collection of poisonous plants displayed in the classroom with their dangers clearly explained could save a child from illness, pain, perhaps even death.
The ease with which a child can fall prey to these dangerous beauties and the peril involved is illustrated by the following stories:
Some years ago, a group of young boys age six to eight went on an outing where they spent the day climbing, hiking and exploring the countryside.
Shortly after they returned, some of the boys began to laugh senselessly, pick imaginary objects out of the air, and bark like dogs. Others crawled under their beds crying and moaning.
The next day most of the boys were back to normal, and all had completely recovered in three days. What was the cause of their weird actions?
A patch of Jimson weed the boys had picked and eaten.
This plant, whose name comes from the colonial settlement of Jamestown, Va., is commonly referred to as thorn apple or stinkweed. It grows almost everywhere - in backyards, fields, and wastelands. It is also responsible for more poisonings than any other plant.
It grows from 2 to 5 feet tall, and has large leaves and white, funnel-shaped flowers resembling morning glories. All parts of the plant are poisonous, but the seeds and leaves especially so.
Children have become ill after simply sucking nectar from it’s flowers or chewing a few seeds or leaves. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe that many of the plants that grow in a peaceful meadow or along a quiet river, or even in your backyard can be labeled as poison.
Between the U.S. and canada, more than 700 species of plants are known to have caused illness or death.
Included in these 700 are some of nature’s most delicate creations; the oleander bush, the lily -of-the-valley, and the rhododendron.
Each year and estimated 12,000 children ingest these plants and others like them. A study revealed that 10 percent of 100 child poisoning cases observed were of youngsters who ad eaten toxic plants, and that in six of these cases, the children’s parents had no idea the plants were dangerous.
A survey of both the classroom and the home is likely to turn up some of these potentially dangerous plants. The dieffenbachia, for instance, a common indoor plant, has a stalk containing needle-like crystals of calcium oxalate that, if chewed, can become embedded in the tissues of the mouth and tongue, causing swelling. A woman nearly died when her swollen tongue began to block the air passage to her throat.
The leaves of the lovely oleander bush, another indoor plant, contain a deadly heart stimulant that, if eaten, could kill a child. Some people have died from merely eating steaks that had been speared on oleander twigs and roasted over an open fire.
Of greatest danger to children are the small attractive berries they find in their yards or in fields near their homes. The berries often look like wild fruit - a mouth-watering delight. Danger - their juice may be deadly.
One summer, a little girl prepared a play luncheon in the back yard. On a miniature plate she put an apple, a radish, and some berries she had picked from a shrub growing in her mother’s rock garden. Four hours later she lapsed into a coma and within seven hours after the luncheon she died.
An autopsy showed that the berries she had eaten were from the Daphne mezereum plant. It is cultivated in back yards and also grows wild in thickets throughout the country. In early spring it has white or purple flowers that are followed by small red or yellow berries containing a corrosive poison that produces severe burns in the mouth and digestive tract. Only a few berries are enough to kill a child.
In another incident, a young girl, who was thought to have choked on a piece of candy, died suddenly. A careful study of the case revealed that the girl had eaten several berries from the poisonous nightshade bush growing near her home.
This vine-like plant, found throughout the country, stretches along the ground or grows upright to a height of about two feet. It’s berries, which grow in clusters, are most toxic when unripe; when they ripen to a bright yellow, orange, and red, they become the least poisonous part of the plant.
Another berry found to be deadly only in it’s unripe form is that of the Lantana camara or red sage, which grows extensively in the South. Some years ago, 17 children in Florida were treated for ingestion of this berry; four of them were hospitalized with severe poisoning and one girl died a short while after eating the berries.
Of nearly equal attraction to children are the various parts of fruit trees - the twigs of cherry trees that release cyanide when eaten, and the leaf of the peach tree which contains hydrocynanic acid, one of the five most dangerous poisons known. Five children became ill after drinking “tea” brewed with hot water and peach leaves.
A garden that contains potatos amd tomatoes presents a further threat to the child. The foliage and vines of both plants contain alkaloid poisons that can, when swallowed, create nervous disorder and stomach upset.
Most dangerous of all plants in the vegetable garden is rhubarb. It’s stalk, commonly used in baking and cooking, of course is not toxic, but the leaf blade, containing oxalic acid which crystallizes in the kidneys, causes severe damage if a number of leaves are eaten.
Castor bean seeds, sold in any garden store for about 25 cents a packet, contain the powerful blood poison ricin that could kill a child. The beans are a mottled black and brown and resemble a beetle. Children often play with them, and jewelry manufacturers make necklaces from them. If they are chewed or swallowed, they become deadly.
It is essential that children and adults understand the dangers involved in eating plants that are unfamiliar with. Those growing in the classroom or around the home should be identified in every way before they are appreciated for something other than their natural beauty!
