"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
Having said all that, for people old enough to take reasonable care
of themselves the euphorbias are magnificent garden plants; and
there are far deadlier plants in many gardens including mine.

More years ago than I care to remember, I worked on the toxic effects of the
Euphorbias. All Euphorbias are to some extent, poisonous (even our native
common spurge and sun spurge). The greatest danger with the Euphorbias is
that they are co-carcinogenic, that is that they do not immediately cause
cancer but after exposure to activating agents e.g. heavy metals, cancer can
form. There is the well documented case of a Carribean island where
Euphorbia leaves were dried and then infused to make a tea-like drink. All
went well until heavy metals got into the water supply and this was followed
by a massive outbreak of throat cancer - so beware!

Phil