DUMBSTRUCK

Dieffenbachia or Dumb Cane
One of the most popular of house plants thanks to its' ease of care as to be almost fool proof. Since it is very tolerant of low light, inherited from its' understorey niche in sub-tropical forests, Dieffenbachia now gladdens dentists' waiting rooms world-wide.
   Supposedly, it is unkindly called Mother in Law's Tongue plant, although it's a name that I never hear actually being used. Most folk are happy with Dieffenbachia which makes me happy since it is botanically correct.
   It has nothing whatsoever to do with Canada's 13th Prime Minister, John George Dieffenbaker. He was a great talker and loved the sound of his own voice. Dumb Cane refers to the effect of the plants sap on the human voice box
that can be so inflamed as to make you speachless.
   Dieffenbachia is not a 'poisonous' plant but an 'injurious' plant; a distinction that is made in the title of the A.M.A. Handbook. It is a distinction that I would like to stress as I would prefer that the word poison be reserved for life threatening conditions not merely the unpleasant.

RUMINATIONS

 Dutifully doing due diligence I sought to discover why Delphiniums are deemed to be poisonous and Larkspurs lethal.
   They are not mentioned in the American Medical Association "Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants". Not in the 1985 edition nor in the revised 2002 edition.
 Both are indicted in Sick Kids' "Information for Families - Plant Safety"
   There is a level of discomfort in finding fault with an institution that does such laudable work in the care of our chidren but I fear that they have strayed beyond their mandate of human medicine and into veterinary science.
   Delphinium species grow in abundance on the Great Plains and westward.
They are usually divided into low larkspurs and tall larkspurs. The tall larkspurs favouring higher elevations from the Rockies to the Pacific.It was complaints from ranchers who were suffering great losses to their large herds that spurred (yes,I know) The U.S. Department of Agriculture to initiate a full study of the prairie flora. Dangers abound for sheep, horses and cattle. Not just the larkspurs but all the loco weeds, St. John's Wort and sleepy grass.
   The first of a cow's four stomachs, the rumen, is like a 50 gallon vat alive with bacteria and other micro-organisms that break down plant cellulose to a form that the animal can digest.  This process results in a great deal of gas and if the cow can't belch she is in big trouble.  Larkspurs appear to disrupt this normal activity and can result in the gases being trapped to the extent that the rumen explodes. The condition is referred to as bloat.
   While still ruminating on this intriguing subject I should not neglect to thank the people at Sick Kids' for alerting us to the perils of Delphiniums. Without their help we might never have known.
   As long as your children can still belch they will probably be fine.

YES. WE HAVE NO CHRYSANTHEMUMS

  We are told that chrysanthemums are 'poisonous to humans'. Is the entire plant poisonous or is it only the flowers or perhaps the leaves or just the root ? If you are keen to orchestrate your own exit how do you go about killing yourself with potted 'mums ? Can't you imagine a kitchen table conversation such as, " Look at this dear. Sick Kids' Hospital says that chrysanthemums are poisonous. Did you know that ? And we just sent some to your mother".
     When they say chrysanthemum do they mean all plants that were once placed in that genus or only the five or six that still retain the well-known name ?  Do they know that the perennial forms have been split into a number of new genera, leaving only a few annuals that you are hardly likely to encounter except perhaps the Corn Marigold, Chrysanthemum segetum ? If they don't know they had better find out and if they still believe that they are poisonous they should scurry and quickly issue a corrigendum listing the plants' new names.
     The popular Fall 'Mum was never quite sure of its name but usually answered to Chrysanthemum x morifolium but is now to be known as Dendranthemum x grandiflorum. This changed caused a hullabaloo in the florist industry and the last I heard it is to be re-instated as a Chrysanthemum. No use wasting a perfectly good name.   
     The new names for the other plants that we once called Chrysanthemums include, Ajania, Argyranthemum, Leucanthemum and Nipponanthemum.
 The familiar roadside Ox Eye Daisy and most Shasta Daisies are in Leucanthemum.
     When I checked in the A.M.A. Handbook I found that the name chrysanthemum appears only once. It does not get the usual treatment afforded to other plants. It is included only in a four page list of plants causing contact dermatisis. This I take to mean that if you are a florist cutting stems and arranging bouquets five days a week, you could develop a skin rash.
     Mothers-in law everywhere will love to receive your display of affection by card or letter, the more so if they accompany a potted chrysanthemum.

DON'T BE SO DAFF'

 Novice gardeners may have been non-plussed recently when shopping for daffodil bulbs. Despite the packages having brightly coloured illustrations of the well -known flower with spreading tepals and flaring trumpet, some folks were unsure enough to ask were there no daffodils as all they could see were Narcissus.
 The Dutch growers have decided to merchandise Daffodils using the more internationally recognized and proper botanical name. Narcissus includes Jonquils and Paperwhites.
     Daffodils are popular for a host of reasons; for their ease of culture, their bright cheerfulness in the spring garden and that the plant and its' bulb are distasteful to squirrels.
     Towards the end of the Second World War the people of Holland faced the very real possibility of starving to death and were reduced to eating floral bulbs such as tulips. They knew better than to eat daffodils. It is good to know that we are at least as smart as squirrels. That narcissus have a certain toxocity is well known. Workers tasked to clean daffodil bulbs of their outer papery scales quite frequently develop a painful skin rash.
     That livestock in occupied Holland were harmed by being fed with daffodil bulbs is at least plausible; but we do not eat like cattle, consuming a single item by the bushel. The more recent story from Suffolk, England saying that children were poisoned when a daffodil bulb was added to the soup during a cookery class, stinks to high heaven.
    Since we apparently have to warn that food from the microwave and coffee from the drive-through is going to be VERY HOT, then the least we can do is to label narcissus bulbs as NOT A FOOD ITEM.
     But then, some of our fellow earthlings might be so obtuse and take that to mean all other bulbs are edible.   So help me!

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

     An entertaining show that began as a regular segment of Art Linklater's House Party and later revived for a couple of seasons by Bill Cosby was premised on the hilarious utterances of innocent children saying the darndest things. It is now not the children but the adults at Toronto's Sick Kids' Hospital that are saying the darndest things and we are not amused.
     In this blog that I call Iconoclastic Tom, the icons that I am attacking all enjoy high public esteem: World Famous Hospitals, the Medical Establishment and a battery of authors and scientists all with impressive credentials; while I am just a guy that works at a garden centre and a lonely voice.
     I am working my way through a list of plants that are said to be 'known to be poisonous to humans'. I have now reached Cyclamen and I'm sputtering.
     In the last few years I have accumulated a considerable library on the subject but could not find any accusations of toxicity being levelled at Cyclamen. Until: Mind-Altering and Poisonous Plants of the World. (Timber Press 2008)  The authors classify its ' toxicity as mildly hazardous. "However, the rhizomes are bitter and hidden below the ground.  Despite the fact that the plant is quite toxic, very few actual cases of poisoning have been recorded in recent years."  Yes. Very few to none.
     In 1980 on a visit to the Golden Gate park in San Francisco I was awestruck by a most spectacular display of Cyclamen; more varieties than I ever dreamed existed. The park covers more than 1000 acres and includes a golf course, a Japanese Tea Garden, museums and one of the largest conservatories in the world.
 The Cyclamen were displayed in perfectly clean 10 inch clay pots. in military order on tiered redwood shelving. Every one of their fleshy silvery- splotched and veined leaves was pristine. They were all in full flower. If their was one their was five hundred with each variety different from its neighbour. Whites and every possible shade of coral, fuchsia, aubergine and purple. Cut and serrated petals, colour-streaked petals (think parrot tulips) ; a kaliadoscope.
  I left my heart in San Francisco.                                                                                                             

CROTON AND OTHER SPURGES

Croton is a Spurge. a member of the Euphorbia family that provides us with a number of interesting perennials with their diagnostic flowers. Cushion Spurge, Euphorbia polychroma might be called a beginners' perennial, it has showy yellow flowers, is very hardy and easy to grow. Croton, ( properly Codiaeum) comes from Brazil and elsewhere in South America. We use it as a house plant mainly for its bizarrely multi-coloured foliage.
             Checking as best I could to find out why it was considered poisonous, I went on the Internet. There was a response to the name Croton but the text immediately started to talk about other spurges, Icicle Spurge and Sun Spurge but not another word about Croton.
 In the A.M.A. Handbook Croton is mentioned only once; not as a poisonous plant but included in a list of plants that the general public had called the Poison Control Agency to ask if it was toxic. The office in Miami, Florida reported that they had this question. No it's not.
 Many spurges contain an acrid sap that could cause a blistering rash in some people. A friend who was weeding Sun Spurge by hand and then blew his nose on a tissue, immediately felt a red-hot pain in his nasal passages. Spurges affect some people but not others.
  The one spurge that is totally harmless and yet  gets the worse press of all; is the popular Christmas Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima. It had been widely reported that in Hawaii a child had died from eating a Poinsettia. It is a story that should never been given any credibility what so ever. Children might gorge themselves on Plum Pudding but not ornamental plants.
 A long time ago when Hugh Downs was the main man on the NBC Today show the U.S. Department of Agriculture would put on an extravagant display of this very colourful Christmas plant. Each year the audience was assured that the story of poisonous Poinsettias was a myth and then to prove his point the presenter would eat one!
    

PLEASE. NO COTTON EASTERS

   






 Cotoneaster has five syllables; not four.
 The E is pronounced and should carry an umlaut, those two little dots above the letter that are the diacritical marks that tell you to do so.  Cotonëaster.
     One other odd thing about Cotonëasters is that the are listed in all nursery catalogues as 'broadleaf evergreens'.: more than odd, downright strange as they are not evergreen, not in these climes at least or not any variety that is sold in this area that I am aware of. They do however carry a display of red fruit well into winter.
     Cotonëasters are in the Rosaceae along with Apples, Cherries, Pears and Saskatoon Berries. It would be odd indeed if suddenly one member of this important family was poisonous as is claimed by this mean-spirited list.
     Supposing all along that Toronto Sick Kid's were depending on the A.M.A. Handbook I discover that Cotonëasters are not mentioned; so I don't know where they got their information.

     Patient friends, I'm having lots of fun with the umlaut. I am using a Windows 7. I searched for umlaut and the instructions were easy. For the two dots over the lowere case e, Hold Alt and type 0235 on the number pad and you get ë. Other codes are there for other vowels in upper and lower case.

Kleh-MAH-tiss or KLEH-mah-tiss?

We do not need to be told that Clematis are toxic. I don't need to know. Parents, children and grand children do not need this warning. Eating a clematis is the furthest thing from my mind. It would never occur to me.
     A physician needs to know that it can cause bloody emesis, diarrhea and abdominal cramps; that there is initial polyneura, painful micturition and hemeturia , which may be followed by oliguria. The folks at Toronto's Sick Kids' Hospital should know but also know better than to list this attractive flowering vine as a plant 'known to be poisonous to humans' and scare the pee out of everybody. Let us agree with medical evidence that Clematis are toxic but a most unlikely hazard.
    It will be much more fun to argue about the pronounciation of Clematis.
 Out of habit and long-usage, I say Klem-AH-tiss while I hear others saying KLEM-a-tiss. The fashionable trend in English is to bring the stressed vowel forward; so it probably should be KLEM-a-tiss and for me to be wrong for a change. In a polysyllabic name the stress is best when it lands on the antepenultimate syllable. (I am indebted to Alan Hickman who teaches gardening for much of this) The ultimate is the last. Penultimate is second to last and antepenultimate the syllable before the second to last. Most times we follow this rule quite naturally as when we speak of an Az-AIL-ee-ah. Rhododendron does not comply to this rule as the stressed vowels are emphasized almost equally. It sounds really awkward when Hemerocallis is forced into the antepenultimate mold. Hem-err-OH-cal-iss would be a silly affectation that is best when the vowels are treated equally, although I have a tendency to say Hem-err-oh- Kal-iss.
 Bluebells should be Camp-ANN-you-laz not Camp-ann-YULE-az. Sweet Coltsfoot, Petasites sounds best as Pet-AH-sit-ees. It is grating to my ears to hear Ah-ne-moans for Ah-NEM-oh-nees but am now quite used to KLEM-at-iss. Please just don't mess around with Astilbes. I like the way it has always been said and still is.

LANTERN PLANT

 CHINESE LANTERN PLANT, Physalis alkekengi should indeed carry a warning; not that its' fruit are poisonous but that it is a garden thug.
It is an extremely hardy perennial that spreads rapidly and eventually will be hard to get rid of. If you know the flowers of potato or tomato you will recognise its' kinship in the Solanaceae. Some people call it the Japanese Lantern Plant; in either case they are referring to the bright red-orange papery husk that encloses the round berry. Allow the fruit to ripen in its' natural paper bag until late August or September; cut a berry in half to reveal its' pulpy interior and small seeds and you should recognize it as a tomato.
     The most widely used name for the fruit is tomatillo but also as Husk Tomato, Strawberry Tomato, Gooseberry Tomato, Cape Gooseberry, Bladder Cherry and Ground Cherry. All of these names attesting to its' desirable qualities as a fruit or vegetable. It is an essential ingredient in Mexican cookery and particularly well regarded by the Guatamaltecos.
     About 80 species of Physalis grow around the world. The Mexican Tomatillo is Physalis ixocarpa. In South Africa the so-called Cape Gooseberry, Physalis peruviana makes a popular marmalade. Our First Nations people knew and used a couple of species although the fruits were no bigger than a cranberry.
     I had thought that a web search would reveal recipes using the berries of the Chinese Lantern Plant but failed to find any. I would have loved to completely debunk the suggestion that the fruit is poisonous. What I did find when I searched Solanine (Solanine glycoalkaloids have  predominately gastrointestinal effects) that tomatoes do not contain any. Potatoes do. Now that is tomatoes not Physalis so my research continues.
     What I hope for is that a food scientist or good chef can show us that the berries of this very hardy perennial plant (most choice species are annuals) are safe, edible and could be made palatable.
                                                                                       Watch this space.
  












.2



























































































































































































































































    

ABOUT CASTOR BEANS

     Castor Beans are not beans. The seeds do not come in a pod. The plant is not a legume. The seeds are poisonous or at least they contain the deadly poison Ricin. When you see a photograph of a seed it will have been greatly enlarged for clarity and you could be misled to expect something larger than its' actual 1cm. It does look like a bean, mottled brown or black on a light ground.   The seeds are processed for their oil that is used medicinally and as an industrial lubricant. The pressed residue is then fed to livestock. Economically it is a valuable plant.
     Ricinus communis is native to north east Africa including the Valley of the Nile where it can grow to as much as 12 metres although more typically to 4 metres. Garden centres usually offer a form with purple-red foliage on a plant that will grow 2 to 3 metres tall in our summers. The large leaves have a number of pointed lobes with serrated edges. It is not as popular as it was 100 years ago in the Edwardian times when large public floral displays were so fashionable; yet still used today by municipal parks departments.
     Since the seeds are poisonous it is surprising that it is planted at all; although poisonings just don't seem to happen. The flowers of Castor Bean or Castor Oil Plant are separately male and female. If the growing season is long enough the seeds will mature in round soft-spined capsules in a steeple-like cluster. Your safe options are to not to grow the plant or to remove the female flower spike before the capsules form or the seeds ripen.
     My family believed in the medical dictum; Keep Your Feet Warm, Your Head Cool and Your Bowels Open. Our choice of a laxative was Castor Oil despite its' viscid repulsiveness. Parents found it hard to administer and children forced to swallow it would think perhaps that they were being punished for some imagined misdeed.
     Pure Ricin made world news in 1978 when it was used to assassinate a Bulgarian journalist (probably some kind of spy). It reads like a plot device straight out of a James Bond story. The man was killed when a ricin loaded bullet was fired into his leg from a compressed-gas pistol that was disguised as an umbrella. In broad daylight. At the bus stop.

CALADIUMS A LA MODE

  


Caladium bicolor are tropical plants that grow from a tuber. In the north we use them in the summer garden or as house plants. A couple of their unhelpful common names are, Angel's Wings and Elephant's Ear. They are among the most elegant of foliage plants. The thin spearhead-shaped leaves can be in many shades of reds pinks or greens with streaks, splashes and marbleing and veins in a contrasting colour. The green and white 'candidum' is elegant and tasteful; just not in the culinary sense.

     As mentioned in an earlier blog (Fat Bulbs and Fatter Heads)  there is a group of plants whose tissue contains insoluble crystals of calcium oxylate  referred to as raphides. These are needle-shaped and just as sharp. Such plants do not cause systemic poisoning in humans. The A.M.A. Handbook refers to 'poisonous or injurious' plants. So, are Caladiums injurious? It will depend on whether you see a glass as half empty or half full.
      If ingested, the raphides sharp attack on the lips and mouth with pain and swelling assuredly qualifies as an injury; but it should also prevent you from actually being poisoned.
     The prescribed medical treatment in such cases is a cold drink or some ice cream held in the mouth until the pain subsides; and perhaps an Aspirin.

     Calla Lily could refer to Calla palustris a semi-aquatic Bog Arum although it it is more likely that Zantedechia is the intended target. The flowers are in the form termed spath and spadix and can be white, pink or yellow dependent on the species. Don't eat them or discover that you have engulfed a mouthful of broken glass. Their antidote is generous helpings of Haagen Dazs.




    

GRAPES OF WRATH

     Boston Ivy, Parthenocissis tricuspidata is Japanese and perhaps earned its' common name when that Massachusetts city became the point of entry for this Asiatic version of our Virginia Creeper.
 It is a grape. From our point of view it is a poor grape. The berries are neither large or juicey enough for our table nor flavourful as wine. But it is a grape in the Vitaceae family. The fact that it is scarcely palatable should not have provoked someones' wrath enough for it to be labelled as poisonous; that overworked word.
 I will agree that if you are unsure of any plant, then better be safe than sorry. That is fine if you are out on the land without a field guide, but surely when you get home there would be time to investigate further and certainly time enough before it gets listed in a book about poisonous plants.
 The A.M.A. Handbook that I have been referencing, lists it only as a plant that contains irritant raphides. Now that I am certain is wrong, so that it should not have been in the book in the first place and explains why Boston Ivy does not get a mention in the revised (2007) edition.
 However it is still on the Sick Kids' list and so gets the full fury of my wrath.

SEND IN THE CLONES

    

Black Locust is Robinia pseudoacacia or pseudacacia. You can spell the specific epithet either way because Linnaeus did.   It is a strange story. Apparently 32 boys ate the bark of some Black Locust trees that were being stripped for fence posts in the yard of the Brooklyn Orphan Asylum.
Two of the boys were described as being seriously poisoned and became 'stuperous'.   Everyone recovered.   The year was 1887.
     I have no source for the following, it is merely my own speculation but perhaps it became a newspaper story that was spread by the new telegraph system and picked up by editors across the country as a 'human interest' item.     . Here we are 125 years later still keeping the tale alive.
     The report may have resonated strongly with the 19th centuary farmers if it caught them by surprise, as I think it did. They would have known that the trees foliage did not make acceptable fodder for livestock but probably never considered it to be poisonous.
    The mid-June fragrant white flowers are in pendulous clusters like a Wisteria and since it is a legume the seeds are like peas in a pod. It would be quite natural to taste such seeds and find if they were edible but find nothing to entice. Had they infact been poisonous they would soon have known it all too well.
 From the spreading roots, new trees arise at a short distance from the parent and soon form a grove. Since they are clones, they all look alike in form and in their height of about eighty feet.
            The Locusts are most valuable for their ability to improve the soil. They come complete with their own source of nitrogen created by nodules of bacteria on their roots. View them in late October and you will see that they do not bother to recapture the nitrogen in their leaves before discarding them but drop them still green. As much as to say 'Easy come easy go'
     A young lady of my aquaintence told me that she had gone to a school where there was a grove of Black Locust in the adjacent field. The children were forbidden to play under the trees. Despite repeated enquiries she never did get an explanation for this silly rule. It is now five generations from the incident of the 32 boys but apparently the teachers have all heard the same daft story.

IN BITTERSWEET THE TWAIN DO MEET.

   Bittersweet could be a couple of plants but since I see Nightshade further downin the list then I think I can presume that Celastrus scandens is intended.
Turning again to the A.M.A. Hand Book of Poisonous and Injurious Plants here is what they say about this native climbing vine.  Note the language that is used. 'The fruit is reputed to be poisonous; all parts of this plant may be toxic.'   Note 'reputed' and 'may'. Then,  'The toxin is unknown. Two alkaloids of undetermined structure were reported in Celastrus paniculata in India'. Wait a minute. I thought we were talking about our native plant not some relative on a different continent.
     Finally: ' Ingestion is reputed (one more reputed) to cause emesis and diarrhea. No detailed cases of human intoxication have been reported.' So why is it in your book? And why are we talking about it?
     The revised edition of the Handbook includes  Oriental Bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus along with our native vine with the same non-toxic assessment.
 I have my own warning to gardeners. You will find it difficult to obtain the native plant even if it is labelled as such, as most garden centres offer only the oriental form. Albeit unwittingly. It is right through the industry. The Oriental Bittersweet has become naturalised and hybridizes readily with our native vine. The native plant might well become extinct and be replaced by the cross-breed. The 2007 Handbook has a photograph of the two species side by side to help in their identification; but a photo' labelled ' Celastrus scandens, fruiting branch.' is I believe, actually of Celastrus orbiculatus.
     The common name is quite apt. The mature fruit is a yellow capsule that opens to reveal a bright red pulpy aril which has a taste that seems to alternate in the mouth; both bitter and sweet.

LET SHEEP GRAZE SAFELY

Azaleas are rhododendrons and can be evergreen or deciduous.They are in the Ericaceae together with Japanese Andromeda, Pieris and Mountain Laurel, Kalmia. It was during a discussion regarding this plant group that a gardener client showed me Azalea cited in this list of plants 'known to be poisonous to humans'. I was vexed and upset at what I perceived to be an uncalled- for libel.
     I did not dismiss the matter but started to do some research on the subject.   The American Medical Association published in 1985 a
 "Hand Book of Poisonous and Injurious Plants" in which they state, 'Rhododrendons have caused serious intoxication to children who chewed on the leaves" This claim is not repeated in the books revised edition (2007) and no case is cited. The references that are given, refer to poisoning in three goats ( they don't say fatally ) and to four incidents of honey poisonings in Turkey. The story of toxic honey is an old one going back over 2000 years. Since there are not enough Azaleas in these parts for bees to make honey enough for a slice of toast I think that you can safely disregard such warnings.
     The A.M.A. have very cleverly denied that they are the publisher of the latest edition of the "Handbook." although it is very obviously the same book with the same format and the same title. Apparently if I have any quarrel with it I must now take my complaints to the New York  Botanical Gardens.
     Note that Mountain Laurel, Kalmia is also called Sheepkill. So if you keep sheep in your garden then you will have to forego Kalmia. And of course, see that your goats are safely tethered.

WE LIKE BARE NAKED LADIES

 Autumn Crocus or Meadow Saffron, Colchicum autumnale                                      has been known from the time of the ancient Greeks as an effective treatment to relieve the pain of gouty arthritis. It is a powerful and effective medicine whose dosage must be prescribed with care less damage results to the patients presumably already fragile kidneys.
     The common name Naked Ladies makes reference to the plants' growing habit. The straplike leaves appear in spring, then die down in summer with no foliage present when the flowers appear in late summer or fall.
      It is usually the corms of Colchicum autumnale or perhaps C.byzantinum that you will find at the garden centre in the fall. Quite often they will be flowering right in their package as nothing holds them back from their seasonal display. The flowers are light purple although white is sometimes offered. It would be a shame if people are put off from enjoying this beautiful late season flower in their garden due only to its association with medicine.
     In no way do I want to encourage anyone in such needless concerns but for the persistently timid let me tell you about Autumn Crocus that really are Crocus and not Colchicums. When Daffodils and Tulips are in the stores, look for the corms of true fall-flowering crocuses. A well-stocked garden centre will have Crocus pulchellus, C. speciosus and C. sativus whose pollen gives us the culinary Saffron.
     For gardeners who are already growing fall-flowering crocus and are now wondering if they are true Crocus or Colchicum; let me give you a brief lesson on botany. The two plants belong to different families. The pollen-producing anthers and the filiment that holds them is the stamen. Colchicum belongs with the Lilies and will have six stamens. Crocus is in the Iris family and will (usually) have only three.
    

FAT BULBS AND FATTER HEADS

Amaryllis and Hippeastrum are those bulbs that look like very large onions. They get potted up to half their depth in a heavy pot that is scarcely large enough.    The bigger the bulb the better the winter display of strapped- shaped leaves and glorious large flowers in the brightest of colours.
 They most certainly should not be labelled as poisonous. If you believe that they need a warning of some kind, then I think NOT A FOOD ITEM  should suffice. Just don't take loose bulbs home in a grocery bag with the store name on it and later suppose that they are spanish onions.

     Angel's Trumpet gets its name from the huge bell-shaped pendulous flowers that may be white or flushed with pink or yellow. The plant itself grows to a height of over two metres and will need precautionary staking. To my taste it is a spectacular novelty to amuse friends and entertain the neighbourhood.The currently accepted name is Brugmansia suaveolens having previously been Datura suaveolens related to Jimson Weed, Datura stramonium and contains the same toxic alkaloids.
 Despite this fact I find it hard to believe that harm would come to anyone from Angel's Trumpet. Unless it is done intentionally.  We will however return to the subject when, in due course , we discuss the perils of Jimson Weed.

      Arrowhead Vine, Syngonium podophyllum is related and similar to Dieffenbachia and Philodendron but also to Caladium, Calla, Colocasia (Taro) and Zantedeschia all in the Acaceae family. They contain needle-sharp crystals of calcium oxylate termed rhaphides. If you bite into these plants, they bite back. We are going to meet many examples of plants with sharp raphides as we explore this list; none of them are 'poisonous' under any meaning of the word.
 It is  surprising, given the vastness of the English language, that we depend so much on "Poisonous".  We have overburdened the word and asked it to do too much. It does not tell you whether any particular so-called poisonous plant is going to give you an upset tummy, a skin rash or kill you.

    

INFAMOUS INDICTMENT

   The plants on this list are asserted to be 'poisonous to humans'.

     Amaryllis,  Angel's Trumpet,  Arrowhead Vine,  Autumn Crocus,  Azalea,  Bittersweet,  Black Locust,  Boston Ivy,  Caladium,  Calla Lily,  Castor Bean,  Chinese Lantern Plant,  Clematis,  Cotoneaster,  Crocus Autumn,  Croton,  Cyclamen,  Daffodil,  Daisy (Chrysanthemum),  Delphinium,  Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane),  Dumb Cane,  Elephant's Ear,  English Ivy,  Eucalyptus,  Euonymus,  Foxglove,  Gladiola,  Holly,  Horsechestnut,  Hyacinth,  Hydrangea,  Iris,  Jack-in-the-Pulpit,  Jequirity Bean,  Jerusalem Cherry,  Jimson Weed,  Larkspur,  Lily-of-the-Valley,  Lobelia,  Lupine,  Marijuana,  Milkweed,  Mistletoe, Monkshood,  Morning Glory,  Mother-in-law Plant,  Mother-in-law's Tongue Plant,  Narcissus,  Nightshade, Oleander,  Peony,  Periwinkle (Vinca),  Philodendron,  Poison Ivy,  Poison Oak,  Pokeweed,  Potato (all green parts),  Pothos,  Rhododendron,  Rhubarb Leaves,  Rosary Bean,  Snake Berry,  Snow on the Mountain,  Star of Bethlehem,  St. John's Wort,  Tobacco,  Tomato (whole plant and green unripe fruit),  Virginia Creeper,  Water Hemlock,  Wisteria,  Yew.

Thus. This is an accurate copy of the original including some unnecessary duplications. There are six pages in the copy that I have; including the cover, a page on non-poisonous plants, a page devoted to mushrooms, the notorious list and the rest to contact telephone numbers and the web address:-
                                                        www.sickkids.ca/poisoninformationcentre/
plus these additional advisories_
 Seeds or pips of the following are poisonous: apple, apricot, cherry, crabapple, nectarine and peach.
* Some of these plants will not cause serious poisoning unless a large amount is eaten.
* Remember, a young child may choke on any plant
* This is not a complete list of poisonous plants.* If any of these plants are eaten, call the Poison Information Centre immediately..


  

PEOPLE LOVE STORIES

People love stories and we like to talk. Each September we are condemned to explain once again that the pollen of Goldenrod is sticky and heavy and needs the services of an insect if it is to be transported to another bloom. It is not light and windborn. It does not provoke the symptoms of hay fever.
   At Christmas we need reassurance that the popular Poinsettia is not poisonous. It is these and hundreds of similar tall tales that I intend to explain and rebut.
The impetus that provokes me is the nugatory Information for Families - Plant Safety from Toronto's Sick Kids' Hospital.
   In my next blog I will provide you with a large list of plants that they say are 'known to be poisonous to humans'. Having read the list I pose these questions. Has it been helpful? Do you know these plants? Do you have them in your home or garden? Did you know that they were dangerous and what are you going to do about them?
   It would be my natural inclination to present them in alphabetical order by their scientific names but, and this is an important part of my complaint, I cannot be sure which specific plant is intended when only common names are used. In the one occasion where the scientific name is appended, they get it wrong!
   After you have studied the list and answered my questions I will take each item one at a time and try to tell their story and why perhaps they were ever on such a list.
   You might just find that the facts are more interesting than the fables that get told.
   Accidental deaths from plants are so few that the European Union does not collect statistics.      In the United States the annual number is five.
Parents should not be encouraged to fear plants in home or garden but to look under the kitchen sink with its' deadly arsenal of drain cleaners. bleaches and detergents.   Drugs and medicine whether prescribed or from the over-the- counter culture made carelessly available to toddlers are very real concerns. Brightly coloured pills including Dad's little blue ones must be tempting to a terrible two year old.