We often live side -by- side with toxic plants and are ignorant that many common plants we use for food, decorate our homes or add value to the landscape are poisonous.
You may be surprised to find out the incredibly lethal plants often hanging around the neighborhood park – or gracing your tabletop in the form of a centerpiece.
We have poisonous plants in our own private gardens, on sale at garden centers, on show in gardens open to the public; including many public parks that are totally unsupervised..
Surprisingly, there is more than one plant that could be in your home that is a potential killer.
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One, is the Daffodil. The bulbs of a daffodil can be deadly. If consumed they can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Include with the bulbs of a Daffodil, the bulbs of a Hyacinth and the bulbs of a Narcissus. Both cause the same symptoms as a Daffodil and both can also cause death.
Daffodils are deer- and vermin-resistant, and no wonder — they have a poisonous numbing effect.
* Oleander : Oleander is a common garden plant, but ingesting any part of it can be deadly. Even the smoke from a burning oleander can kill you.
It is the most deadly plant in the world. It is also tremendously popular as a decorative shrub. Just one leaf can kill an adult, and fatal poisonings have resulted from minimal exposure to the twigs, blooms and berries.
Once ingested, oleander goes to work simultaneously on the nervous system, the cardiovascular system, and the digestive tract.
* Apples: The apples on the tree are, as we know, not only good to eat but also good for us. But not the seeds. They, as well as the seeds of apricots and the pits of peaches contain cyanogenic glycosides. If you eat enough of the seeds, you could very well die.
If you cut up apples for your children or prefer to eat whole apples down to the core, make sure you remove those seeds.
* The rosary pea may sound sweet and downright pious, but it’s actually one of the most toxic plants on earth. Its seeds contain a particular lectin known as abrin.
If chewed and swallowed, death will follow shortly. The seeds are easily identified with their distinctive bright red jacket and single black dot (almost like a reverse Black Widow spider And,
Rosary peas are traditionally used as ornamental beads. Many jewelry makers have died after handling rosary peas, which contain abrin, a fatal toxin.
* Castor Beans: One castor bean contains enough ricin to kill an adult within a few minutes. Castor oil is made safe (but not palatable) with the removable of the lethal compound known as ricin.
Amazingly, castor bean plants are grown for decorative purpose all over the place, particularly in California.
* Monkshood: Monkshood was used by ancient warriors to poison the water of their enemies. Monkshood is actually “wolfsbane”. That’s owing to its once common use by farmers as a very effective wolf extermination tool.
It was once used as a popular werewolf-detection tool. The flower was held near the alleged wolf’s chin, and if a yellow-tinged shadow appeared, that was confirmation that the person was a werewolf.
Before you panic and rush off to convert your garden into a Japanese art form of stones and water, keep things in perspective. Research has shown the risk of harm from plant poisons is low – less than one in 10 million.
Why not start a weekly walk with your children to educate them about the beauty and the beasts in your garden?
Want to know more about toxic plants in your garden? Then, post your question below.
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Yours truly, Polly – Organic Gardener
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Glad I don’t have any of these in my garden or yard. I really dislike oleanders anyways and I hear there’s a bug that’s killing a lot of them anyways. Good post! Cheers~
Fox gloves known as Digitalis purpurea also has toxic properties. I’ve been told that even the fumes from burning the plant can cause heart palpatations. Nonetheless, it is a very beautiful plant,tall, elegant and standing tall and proud in any garden!