Poisonous Plants

e all know that poison ivy and oak are something to watch out for. Did you know that there are plenty of other plants that are either poisonous or cause irritation and they can be found in your garden?

Hundreds of plants have toxic parts; with some plants it's their fruits, some their flowers, foliage or roots. Many are common ornamentals and food plants. The best way to protect yourself is to learn to recognize and avoid all specimens that are toxic to touch or eat.

One of the most common toxic plants found in the yard is poison ivy. The resin in the sap, called urushiol, causes an itchy rash on contact with any part of the plant. Even the smoke from a burning plant is an irritant.

There is no cure for the inflammation once you've come in contact with the toxic plants. Try to limit how much of your skin becomes affected by the resin by washing in Fels Naptha soap, rinsing and then lathering up again and leaving for 5 minutes and then rinsing again.

Don't forget that your pets can brush against the same irritating plants and when you pet them, the resin can spread to you. Be sure to keep pets from running loose through areas containing these plants.
If you are removing ivy from your yard, wear protective clothing--long sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves, socks and lace up shoes. Goggles will protect your eyes so you wont accidentally touch them with your gloves.

The best thing to do if you find these weeds in your yard is to not pull them up at all but to smother them. Place newspaper or plastic over the area until the plants are dead and composted.

When you are gardening in your flowerbeds and vegetable plot, be aware that dangers abound there as well. Inform your children not to eat any plant without asking an adult about it and it would be best to have them not even pick something without checking with you first because some plants cause irritation simply from touching them. Here is a list of dangers in your garden by irritating factor.

Plants that cause irritation: Amaryllis, carnation, cyclamen, daisy, fig, four-o'-clock, geranium, rue, stinging nettle, tulip bulbs

Plants with poisonous foliage: Buttercup, datura, delphinium, dieffenbachia, euphorbia, foxglove, iris, monkshood, oleander, philodendron, potato, rhubarb, rue, tomato

Plants with poisonous fruits: Castor bean, daphne, euonymus, holly, ivy, lupine, mayapple, pyracantha, wisteria, yew

Plants with all poisonous parts: Azalea, bleeding heart, boxwood, crocus, chrysanthemum, daffodil, hydrangea, lily-of-the-valley, mountain laurel, rhododendron, sweet pea

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Amy Rawson is a freelance writer, and is the attachment parent leader at http://www.herplanet.com. She also runs a home-based business making homemade salves, oils and balms for babies and mamas at http://www.welcome.to/lvmyboysessentials. This article © 1999-2005 Amy Rawson. Used by permission.

Related items:

• Botanical.com has a large index of poisonous plants
• The Poisonous Plants Database: A huge database of poisonous plants for both humans and animals
• The University of Saskatchewan Horticultural Department's "Plants that Kill" site has an extensive list of poisonous houseplants