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A Witch's Brew of Plants - Page 2

© Howard Deutch

sometimes used as food. But then I love barbequed chicken and steak cooked over charcoal. I think it is the carcinogens that give it its delicious flavor. Kalanchoe, is a very pretty plant used indoors in cold climes, flowering in the winter. Some species contains a cardiac glycoside, others a toxic bufadienalide, both are dangerous to children.

Black cherry, Prunus serotina, contains chemicals that can release hydrogen cyanide when the pits are eaten. If many pits are eaten by children, it can be fatal. With all the plants that can be harmful to children, it is a wonder and wonderful that we have so many around. Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquifolia, is another one to keep them from chewing on. Eating a single leaf of Oleander can be most harmful. Deadly Nightshade, Atropa Belladonna, is aptly named. It is also known as Devil's Cherries. Children can be attracted to their sweet berries with fatal result due to the presence of the alkaloid Atropine. Every part of the plant is poisonous. Black nightshade, Solanum nigrum, is also to be avoided. The seeds of the Euonymous europeus are also poisonous to children. They are much larger and more attractive than are the seeds of the alatus.

I have liked to extract the sweet nectar from the flowers of the Tartarian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica. This is done by pinching the calyx end and drawing the stamen through the flower, bringing with it a drop of nectar. Some sources claim that the plant can be dangerous to children. Mine were never harmed by the flower nectar, but they never had any significant quantity of it. There was only one small drop in each blossom.

The leaves of the Caladium can burn the lips of children who chew on them. English ivy, Hedera helix, can cause contact dermatitis and don't eat the berries.

Rhubarb and apple rhubarb pies are famously good. But only the stems of rhubarb. Leave the leaves alone for safety sake. The oxalate crystals in the leaves are toxic. Foxgloves keep coming up in a corner of my garden. This biennial, Digitalis purpurea, is another one on the dangerous list. Its beauty hides a beast although the useful drug, digitalis, is derived from it. Last year I attempted to grow the Castor bean, Ricinus communis, plant. The large seeds had a hard shell so I foolishly scored them thinking that would aid germination. I carefully planted them in individual peat pots kept in a safe indoor location as I knew that the seeds were quite toxic. Scoring the seeds released the toxin ricin which was the worst thing I

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