In article .com,

"Sacha" writes:
|
| However, you say that the sap isn't life-threatening but that is one
| of the most toxic plants going. A friend of ours ended up in hospital
| after contact with it. He had horrible blisters and three years later,
| the areas of his skin affected, still react badly to exposure to
| sunlight. It's definitely not a plant to take lightly or to recommend

I would (and did) take the "chemical burn" plants more seriously than
the "poisonous" ones. If a child gets the sap on its hands, and rubs
its eyes, that could be VERY bad news. And that is actually a likely
scenario,

I agree wholeheartedly that plants capable of inflicting serious pain
and/or permanent skin or eye damage are too dangerous to grow in a
garden where children will play. Fortunately there are not too many of
them. But even things like hyacinth bulbs can afflict sensitive skins.
I managed to get sensitised to sedum spectabile sap by some mishap.

unlike a child munching random unpalatable leaves, digging
up and eating roots etc.

Though the handful of seriously deadly plants where the flower or
fruits are potentially lethal in low doses (colchicum or autumn crocus
and oleander) are also worth avoiding. The list I posted that you
complained about was over cautious, but AFAICT it did contain most of
the nasty ones classified as nasty (but also some pretty harmless ones
falsely accused).

Unfortunately, there are a fair number of such plants. Giant hogweed
is one; all sumachs and euphorbias are others - and the last include
petty spurge (a very common weed) and the house plant "poinsettia".

You will have the Poinsettia society after your scalp. As far as is
known the toxicity of euphorbia pulcherrima or Poinsettia is pretty
much an urban legend that has never been confirmed in any independent
toxological trials. See for example:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/e...0/art1nov.html

Most cultivars of E. pulcherrima lack the nasty diterpenes present in
the vicious ones. But I would still not want their sap in my eyes. I
once made that mistake after stringing chillis...

Euphorbia virosa at the other extreme is so dangerous that eye
protection is essential when handling it. The sap jets out under
pressure when the plant is damaged in fine threads. Most euphorbias are
somewhere inbetween. Desert ones are usually much nastier.
http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/acc_num/198900028.html

Fortunately in the UK we do not have the really dermatologically
vicious sumacs like poison oak and ivy or the Japanese lacquer tree.

Also periwinkles, but mere touch isn't enough to reach the sap.

A rough and ready rule for handling plant cuttings is never trust
anything with a milky sap. Lettuce is the obvious exception.
And always wash your hands...

Regards,
Martin Brown