Poisonous plant guide/

Different events can trigger me to update old posts. 

I have brushed off the toxic plant blog several times over the years, but I have a different twist on it this time around. 

The earlier version of the post focused solely on young kids and plant safety but the incident that brought this to mind for me recently involved grown ups. 

 A group of people who are quite close to me were out in the country. 

They came across what they believed to be some wild onions and cooked them up as part of the dinner. It was only after several of them started to feel ill that they got suspicious and did some checking to find that they had actually eaten something called a death camas. 

Nothing like a name with death in it to ramp up the anxiety level! 

I think most people have been taught over the years the dangers of wild mushrooms and potentially toxic berries. I personally had never even heard of wild onions or their poisonous twin. 

 Fortunately they hadn’t eaten enough to have severe issues, but it could have been so much worse. 

One of the women who had eaten the poisonous plant was breast feeding; no one was able to give her much information about this, so the poor mom ended up pumping and dumping her breastmilk for two full days just to be on the safe side.

 Another of the people who ate part of the meal and did not get terribly affected said afterwards that he had a feeling that this was less than prudent, but didn't speak up. 

 My brother-in-law who is a national park ranger told me of a time that he had to have someone airlifted for emergency medical care after eating death camas. 

This person was a Native American man who had grown up eating wild onions and got caught off guard by the look alike plant. 

 The takeaways here are clear. Don’t eat any wild plants unless you are 100% certain that they are safe. If you see others taking chances, don’t be shy about being a party pooper, SPEAK UP! 

Foraging plants in the wild has become more and more popular. Please be cautious! Most of the time when toxic plants are a concern of course, is when young kids decide to nibble on some house plants. This is a good reminder for all of us that we need to be knowledgeable about plants that our kids come in contact with. 

 In most of the cases of these plant eaters, the kids aren’t showing any obvious signs that there was an issue. 

Typically if someone eats something that is toxic, and there is cause for concern, you would expect to have obvious symptoms. 

To be on the safe side, the best course of action if you know your child has eaten something you aren’t sure about is to check in with the Poison Control Center. In California that number is 1-800-222-1222 

 The Poison Control Centers here in the United States report that they get more than 100,000 annual calls about plant or mushroom exposure. 

Knowing what plant your child actually came in contact with is very helpful to them. 

Unfortunately, most of the time all we know is that it has leaves and is green. I would place a bet that many of us can't actually identify the plants we have in our homes and yards, and therefore have no idea about whether or not they are a potential hazard. 

 Different plants will cause a variety of symptoms. Just like a sensitivity to food, not all kids will be equally reactive to an exposure. Reactions can range vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, a rash or fussing, to more severe seizures, paralysis, heart irregularities and/or death. Mushrooms are the biggest culprits for severe reactions, but as I mentioned they are by no means the only thing to be aware of.

 Step one is to teach your children not to put any part of a plant in the mouth (yeah, good luck with that…..) This means leaves, stems, bark, seeds, nuts, berries, and bulbs. 

Unfortunately kids will chew or eat things regardless of how they taste or the level of disgustingness. Depending on the plant, eating a tiny amount might not be an issue, but large or repeated doses can be harmful. 

I know it just about impossible to watch them every second, so it is important for you to be able to recognize plants that are more hazardous and limit access to those. Some plants will cause irritation just by coming in contact with them. 

Locally the most common culprit for that is poison oak. Some succulents and cacti aren’t poisonous but can cause a wicked scratch from getting too close to their spikes. 

 If you have small children or curious pets, consider removing toxic or hazardous plants. 

If you are attached to a plant that is on the list, perhaps lend it to a friend or neighbor until your little one is out of the "everything in the mouth" stage. 

 In general, toxic or not, house plants should be placed out of reach of the very young. You also need to pay attention to falling leaves, which can be a choking hazard. If there are other houses or places that you frequent with your kids, make sure those plants are safe as well. 

 If you are a gardener, make sure you store labeled bulbs and seeds in a safe place where your kids and pets don’t have access to them. 

 For the older kids, I would do some active teaching about plant safety. Make a point of teaching them that it isn’t safe to suck nectar from flowers or make "tea" from mystery leaves. Never chew, or let children chew on jewelry made from seeds or beans. You might even do some role playing to help them avoid peer pressure: “I dare you to eat one of those berries” “You can dare me all you want, My family rules are more important and we don’t put mystery plants in our mouth”  

 Below is a list of some of the common house and garden plants with poisonous parts. Plants causing severe or fatal poisoning are marked *. Plants causing rashes are marked with°. 

Plants                  Poisonous Parts

African violet              Leaves

Amaryllis-garden              Bulbs

Azalea *                       Leaves

Castor bean                  All parts

Cherries *                 Seeds and leaves

Citrus fruits                  Leaves

Crown of thorns°              Milky sap

Cyclamen*                    Tuber

Daffodil*                       Bulbs

Delphinium                    Young plant, seeds

Elephant ear*                   All parts

Figs°                          Milky sap

Four o'clock*                   Root, seeds

Foxglove*                     Leaves

Holly-English                   Berries

Hyacinth*                     Bulbs

Hydrangea                     Leaves

Impatiens                     Young stems, leaves

Iris°                         Rhizomes

Ivy:

English; German; ground  Leaves, stems, berries

Larkspur*                     Young plants, seeds

Laurel

Australian; mountain     All leaves

Lily-of-the-Valley                Leaves, flowers

Lilies                         Bulbs

Lupines                      Leaves, pods, seeds

Mistletoe*                     Berries

Narcissus*                     Bulbs

Oaks                         Acorns, foliage

Oleander*                    All parts

Peaches                      Seeds, leaves

Philodendron                   Stems, leaves

Plums                       Seeds, leaves

Poinsettia*                     Milky sap

Potato-Irish                   Green skin on tubers

Primrose                     Leaves, stem

Rhododendron*                Leaves

Rhubarb*°                   Leaves

Sweet peas                     Stem

Tomato                      Green foliage

Tulip*                       Bulbs

Wisteria                       Pods and seed

Yew*                        Foliage, bark, seeds

Here is a more comprehensive list of toxic plants :

Pets can also have different reactions to certain plants. This link provides a list of plants that are toxic for your pets:

When I wrote this piece a few years ago it prompted Alana to rehome some lilies with us. I am happy to report that her kitties and the plant all doing well.