Lesson 8: POISONOUS PLANT OVERVIEW
POISONOUS PLANT OVERVIEW
One of the most enjoyable outdoor activities I can think of is enjoying nature’s flora. There are so very many plants, trees, and flowers to admire. The Gardening Community at Suite101 is an excellent resource to find out everything you always wanted to know about gardens and plants. However, did you ever stop and think that the beautiful flower you’re looking at could be deadly to you or your pet if ingested? How about that three-leafed plant you couldn’t help but touch? Hmm…think that rash you’ve suddenly got has something to do with that plant? While there are many harmless plants in the world, and even plants we eat on a regular basis, there are numerous others that range in effect from annoying (the rash) to fatal. How do we tell which are safe, and which are best left alone? The task is monumental, and unless you’ve got a degree in Botany, or a lifetime of plant experience, it’s really hard to tell the different between a beautiful and harmless plant and a beautiful but deadly one. If you’re going to spend time in the wilderness experiencing the flora, it’s best to have a working knowledge of plants, and some common sense. First let’s discuss where poisonous plants can be found: EVERYWHERE. Even in your own garden. That beautiful fragrant Lily of the Valley? Every part of the plant is poisonous. That tomato plant that produces delicious red fruit? The green fruit, leaves and stems—all poisonous. But before you swear off eating tomatoes and planting Lily of the Valley in your garden, read on, and we’ll discuss resources useful in determining if a plant (or certain parts of a plant) is poisonous, and where to go for help in identifying unknown plants.
Where to go to identify poisonous plants:
- Cornell University’s Poisonous Plants Page. This is a HUGE database of poisonous plants, complete with pictures, which always helps when you’re trying to identify a plant you saw on an afternoon hike. You can look up plants by common or scientific names, view toxic effects of different plants, and even learn what species are affected by certain plants.
- The Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System. This database is set up much like the Cornell page. However, it’s specific to Canada. Many of the same plants found in Canada can be found elsewhere, but for those of you in Canada, this is an invaluable resource. There aren’t many pictures, but the information is very thorough.
- Australian Native Poisonous Plants. This is a great informative site on poisonous plants of Australia. There is no searchable database, but the author of the article gives a lot of information on common poisonous plants in Australia.
- My favorite page on poisonous plants, Poisonous Plants and Plant Parts is an easy-to-read table of poisonous plants, grouped by plant location. The table provides plant names, the toxic parts of the plant, and symptoms that may be experienced after ingestion or exposure to the plant.
- An excellent site with links to an abundance of resources on poisonous plants, the Gardening Launchpad is a good reference page on poisonous plants.
- On the Resources page on this course, you will find an excellent reference book, titled "Know Your Poisonous Plants: Poisonous Plants Found in Field and Garden". This book is filled with pictures and descriptions, and is a great home reference manual.
- For a great general reference on plant identification, visit the Plants Database.
Poisonous plants are poisonous in different ways. Some plants are toxic all the time, while others are poisonous year-round. Some plants may only contain poison in certain parts of the plant, while all parts of other plants are toxic. Some plants are toxic if you ingest them, while others can cause a reaction just by touching the plant. In the next section, we’ll discuss the types of reactions poisonous plants can cause, and first aid for each reaction.
