False Friends of the Plant World

I recently finished a book that I picked up simply because I liked the look of it. The title, Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Abe Lincoln's Mother and Other Botantical Atrocities, was too delicous to resist. And the book itself: small, green, with an embossed cover and an adorable gold ribbon bookmark looked like something one might pick up in a Victorian bookshop.

In spite of the book's cuteness....the contents were anything but. As the title boldly announces, the book covers a variety of risque and frequently deadly denizens of the plant world. I certainly expected to (and did) run into a few familiar faces: belladonna (aka deadly nightshade), castor beans (origin of the incredibly deadly poison ricin), aconite (aka wolfsbane, monkshood), mandrake. But I was discomfited by just how many houseplants and even vegetables and fruits made the list. As an example:

- Have you ever heard of pellagra? If you lived in Europe or the American South in the last two centuries, you would have seen it on a regular basis. In fact there are some theories that it contributed to the vampire mythos in that its victims developed a marked sensitivity to sunlight and often looked like animated corpses depending on the severity of the disease. Pellagra, a deadly form of malnutrition caused by a deficiency of niacin, was and is largely caused by corn. That's right, corn. The same yellow stuff most of us enjoy with gusto every late spring and summer. Corn is wonderfully nutritious aside from the fact that it jealously guards its niacin (vitamin B3). When eaten with a balanced diet of foods, this isn't a problem. But if corn makes up a significant portion of your diet, as it does in many countries, pellagra can frequently rear its ugly head. The native americans worked around this problem by planting corn with lime or other calcite-bearing minerals. The minerals worked with the corn to release the niacin and make it easily absorbed when eaten. But it wasn't until the 1930s that folks figured out the link.

- Ever seen a raw cashew? If you do, please don't eat it. Cashews are part of the same family as poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac. The nut is safe to consume as long as it hasn't come in contact with the shell. Pick one up and you can expect to develop an uncomfortable rash.

- Philodendrons. Ficus. Peace Lilies. English Ivy. All incredibly common houseplants. And all toxic. Philodendrons can cause severe stomach cramping and nausea if ingested. The ficus tree can provoke severe allergies. The peace lily causes skin irritation, nausea, burning of the mouth, and difficult swallowing. And english ivy can cause severe gastrointestinal and respiratory problems.

Suffice it to say after reading this book, I began to look at my garden and houseplants in a whole new light. The following day, I took a little tour around my backyard to see what I could find. More than half of the plants were here when K and I moved in...combine that with my utter lack of plant knowledge and you can imagine how oblivious I have been to what's growing out back (and in my house). But after doing a little detective work, I was able to identify a few. Here's a list of those that made the "wicked" list:

Solanum jasminoides, AKA potato vine. This plant, sometimes also referred to as unscented jasmine, is part of the notorious solanum or nightshade family. We have a giant one growing up the entire back wall of our house. The small purple berries are toxic if eaten. What's really disturbing is that just this weekend, I picked a few berries off the plant and squeezed them just to see what the juice looked like.

Solanum macranthum, AKA potato tree. This tree, related to the vine above, sits in the easternmost corner of our house against a fence. It's lovely with crepe-like purple flowers that bloom in the spring and summer. But, like most members of the nightshade family, it's toxic and has a sap that, if touched, can cause skin irritation.

Oleander, a member of the dogbane family (btw, any plant that has the word "bane" in it, from the old english "bana" or "death, killer", is almost certainly one you don't want to have anywhere near your home). Lovely flowers, known as the "freeway plant" in California because these Mediterranean trees/shrubs line many freeways throught the Golden State. Also reputed to be one of the most toxic plants around. Oleander leaves, bark, and flowers are extremely poisonous and even very small exposure can be enough to cause death, especially in young children. Thankfully, all our oleanders reside outside our backyard. However an entire row of them line the east side of our house (along the outside of the side fence) and we have one lovely oleander tree smack in the middle of our front walkway. M knows oleanders by sight and, after repeated warnings, is well aware not to go near them.

Bougainvillea, an incredibly beautiful climbing plant, is pretty safe when compared with some of the other plants I listed above. Except for the thorns. Bougainvillea thorns have a waxy black substance on the tip which is toxic and has been known to cause anything from mild irritation to hospital visits requiring antibiotic treatment for infection. We've got bougainvillea in several spots in our backyard.

There's probably more but I'm too depressed to continue my search. Thankfully, with the winter months just around the corner, many of these plants will be at their lowest levels of toxicity (aside from my deadly friend the oleander). It's pretty clear to me now that whoever owned this house prior to K and I did NOT have small children.

Here's a great resource to help you find out the general toxicity of common indoor and outdoor plants in your home or garden. And here's a list of relatively safe plants, especially for those of us with pets and/or kids.