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Old 26-04-2006, 11:24 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
H Ryder
 
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I know that lots of plants are described as "poisonous" when in fact they
just give you a bit of a bad tummy, whilst others can be fatal. I have small
children so am trying to rid the garden of anythign fatal to them but do not
mind the "bad tummy" plants. Does anyone know where I can find out just how
poisonous plants are? Am especially interested in Daphnes as I'd love to
have one but have avoided getting one as they seem "very poisonous" but I am
not sure of this. Also please let me know of any common plant which is fatal
to children - I know of Lords and Ladies (Acorus calamus ) and nightshade
but am not sure of others. (I also know that I can tell them not to eat
anything but that does not work in a garden full of raspberries etc - they
know that they can eat some stuff )

--
Hayley
(gardening on well drained, alkaline clay in Somerset)


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Old 26-04-2006, 11:38 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk
 
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I know that lots of plants are described as "poisonous" when in fact they
just give you a bit of a bad tummy, whilst others can be fatal. I have small
children so am trying to rid the garden of anythign fatal


Most of the online lists are targetted at the US but are still useful.

Google +plants +toxicity gives several useful sites. This one isn't too
bad:

http://envhort.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/P...nt/Tox-COM.htm

Some include toxicity to commercial livestock as well.

It probably is worth avoiding some of the really deadly poisonous
plants if you have small children. Some colchicums for instance can be
lethal in very small doses.

Regards,
Martin Brown

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Old 26-04-2006, 11:41 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Nick Maclaren
 
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In article ,
"H Ryder" writes:
|
| I know that lots of plants are described as "poisonous" when in fact they
| just give you a bit of a bad tummy, whilst others can be fatal. I have small
| children so am trying to rid the garden of anythign fatal to them but do not
| mind the "bad tummy" plants. Does anyone know where I can find out just how
| poisonous plants are? Am especially interested in Daphnes as I'd love to
| have one but have avoided getting one as they seem "very poisonous" but I am
| not sure of this. Also please let me know of any common plant which is fatal
| to children - I know of Lords and Ladies (Acorus calamus ) and nightshade
| but am not sure of others. (I also know that I can tell them not to eat
| anything but that does not work in a garden full of raspberries etc - they
| know that they can eat some stuff )

It ain't what you know that causes the trouble; it's what you know that
ain't so.

The one plant I would advise against is laburnum, because its seeds
look just like mung beans and are lethally poisonous. But it is
widespread in the UK and responsible for VERY few deaths. Neither of
the two plants you mention is lethal. Try educating your children
rather than covering them in cotton wool - many of us have done that,
and our neighbours had a laburnum that overhung our lawn, too.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
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Old 26-04-2006, 11:43 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
shazzbat
 
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"H Ryder" wrote in message
...
I know that lots of plants are described as "poisonous" when in fact they
just give you a bit of a bad tummy, whilst others can be fatal. I have
small
children so am trying to rid the garden of anythign fatal to them but do
not
mind the "bad tummy" plants. Does anyone know where I can find out just
how
poisonous plants are? Am especially interested in Daphnes as I'd love to
have one but have avoided getting one as they seem "very poisonous" but I
am
not sure of this. Also please let me know of any common plant which is
fatal
to children - I know of Lords and Ladies (Acorus calamus ) and nightshade
but am not sure of others. (I also know that I can tell them not to eat
anything but that does not work in a garden full of raspberries etc - they
know that they can eat some stuff )


Dieffenbachia (dumb cane), renders the mouth particularly sore, and the
victim incapable of speech for some time, hence its common name. It is not
recommended to put any in the Mother-in-law's salad, or feed it to screaming
kids during the world cup, that would be really naughty.

Steve


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Old 26-04-2006, 11:46 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\)
 
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"H Ryder" wrote in message
...
I know that lots of plants are described as "poisonous" when in fact they
just give you a bit of a bad tummy, whilst others can be fatal. I have
small
children so am trying to rid the garden of anythign fatal to them but do
not
mind the "bad tummy" plants. Does anyone know where I can find out just
how
poisonous plants are? Am especially interested in Daphnes as I'd love to
have one but have avoided getting one as they seem "very poisonous" but I
am
not sure of this. Also please let me know of any common plant which is
fatal
to children - I know of Lords and Ladies (Acorus calamus ) and nightshade
but am not sure of others. (I also know that I can tell them not to eat
anything but that does not work in a garden full of raspberries etc - they
know that they can eat some stuff )

--
Hayley
(gardening on well drained, alkaline clay in Somerset)


The lethal dose of most things is related to the body weight of the
individual, so obviously small kids are most at risk.
Education will be the best form of defence but I agree that it is not a good
idea to have lethal plants.
The one that regularly gets the chop is Laburnum.
Please remember that just because a plant does not appear on a list of
nasties does not mean that it is totally harmless.




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Old 26-04-2006, 11:48 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Nick Maclaren
 
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In article . com,
writes:
|
| Google +plants +toxicity gives several useful sites. This one isn't too
| bad:
|
| http://envhort.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/P...nt/Tox-COM.htm

Sorry, but it's hysterical crap.

Apple/plum/etc. seeds, Amaranthus, Black Nightshade, Heather etc. are
category 1 - major toxicity - and I know that it is bullshit in all of
those cases.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
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Old 26-04-2006, 12:00 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
H Ryder
 
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Try educating your children

I am - that is why I do not mind plants such as holly which give you a bad
tummy. What I want to avoid is the risk of them eating something which could
kill them. Education is obviously a good thing but, to a three year old, a
red current and a berry from lords and ladies can look very similar so
given that I #can# try to minimise this risk by removing very toxic plants
from my garden I am trying to. Then I can give them free roam of teh garden,
tell them to ask before eating, and not worry too much

--
Hayley
(gardening on well drained, alkaline clay in Somerset)


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Old 26-04-2006, 12:01 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
H Ryder
 
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Dieffenbachia (dumb cane), renders the mouth particularly sore, and the
victim incapable of speech for some time, hence its common name.


sounds like a v useful plant

--
Hayley
(gardening on well drained, alkaline clay in Somerset)


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Old 26-04-2006, 12:50 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Sacha
 
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H Ryder wrote:
I know that lots of plants are described as "poisonous" when in fact they
just give you a bit of a bad tummy, whilst others can be fatal. I have small
children so am trying to rid the garden of anythign fatal to them but do not
mind the "bad tummy" plants. Does anyone know where I can find out just how
poisonous plants are? Am especially interested in Daphnes as I'd love to
have one but have avoided getting one as they seem "very poisonous" but I am
not sure of this. Also please let me know of any common plant which is fatal
to children - I know of Lords and Ladies (Acorus calamus ) and nightshade
but am not sure of others. (I also know that I can tell them not to eat
anything but that does not work in a garden full of raspberries etc - they
know that they can eat some stuff )

The RHS site has a pdf file of poisonous plants, though it's probably
easier to list what is NOT poisonous.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/research/docum..._e_harmful.pdf

If it's any consolation to you, I'm pretty certain there have been no
reported deaths from plant poisoning in absolutely years and years. I
can't say it's something I ever worried about with my children and they
seem to have survived. However, I would say that while you might well
want to avoid certain plants that are poisonous if ingested, I'd be at
least as cautious, if not more so, about plants whose sap or leaves can
irritate the skin. We no longer sell Rue here, because a customer who
had bought it from us and had it for a year, had read but ignored or
forgotten that the label warned it's a considerable skin irritant to
some people. She complained bitterly and made a really huge fuss and
it's just not worth the risk for us. Another plant to beware of
(though you're unlikely to grow it deliberately!) is Giant Hogweed.
Euphorbia sap is very irritating to some skins and even daffodils can
have the same effect.
This is another useful site
http://www.gardensearch.co.uk/harmfulplants.htm
and its introduction says
"The following list of potentially harmful plants has been based on
information contained in the Horticultural Retailers Code of Practice.
The Code is compiled by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) who
have worked with the Poisons Unit at Guy's Hospital and The Royal
Botanic Gardens at Kew. "
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

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Old 26-04-2006, 12:51 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Nick Maclaren
 
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In article ,
"H Ryder" writes:
| Try educating your children
|
| I am - that is why I do not mind plants such as holly which give you a bad
| tummy. What I want to avoid is the risk of them eating something which could
| kill them. Education is obviously a good thing but, to a three year old, a
| red current and a berry from lords and ladies can look very similar so
| given that I #can# try to minimise this risk by removing very toxic plants
| from my garden I am trying to. Then I can give them free roam of teh garden,
| tell them to ask before eating, and not worry too much

Heck - I got mine to ask such things well before they were three. I made
sure that the first time they did things without checking, the results
were unpleasant ....

And, as I said, a berry from Lords and Ladies will not kill them. Nor
would six berries, if I recall, but they wouldn't eat more than one, as
it is a strong irritant. Many plants are lethal, but only to people who
munch leaves at random - children aren't THAT stupid.

Laburnum and yew are almost the ONLY common plants that are similar to
food and lethal in the quantities that a child will normally eat - and
yew rarely produces berries on clipped plants. I can't think of another.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


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Old 26-04-2006, 01:35 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\)
 
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"Sacha" wrote in message
oups.com...

H Ryder wrote:
I know that lots of plants are described as "poisonous" when in fact they
just give you a bit of a bad tummy, whilst others can be fatal. I have
small
children so am trying to rid the garden of anythign fatal to them but do
not
mind the "bad tummy" plants. Does anyone know where I can find out just
how
poisonous plants are? Am especially interested in Daphnes as I'd love to
have one but have avoided getting one as they seem "very poisonous" but I
am
not sure of this. Also please let me know of any common plant which is
fatal
to children - I know of Lords and Ladies (Acorus calamus ) and nightshade
but am not sure of others. (I also know that I can tell them not to eat
anything but that does not work in a garden full of raspberries etc -
they
know that they can eat some stuff )

The RHS site has a pdf file of poisonous plants, though it's probably
easier to list what is NOT poisonous.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/research/docum..._e_harmful.pdf

If it's any consolation to you, I'm pretty certain there have been no
reported deaths from plant poisoning in absolutely years and years. I
can't say it's something I ever worried about with my children and they
seem to have survived. However, I would say that while you might well
want to avoid certain plants that are poisonous if ingested, I'd be at
least as cautious, if not more so, about plants whose sap or leaves can
irritate the skin. We no longer sell Rue here, because a customer who
had bought it from us and had it for a year, had read but ignored or
forgotten that the label warned it's a considerable skin irritant to
some people. She complained bitterly and made a really huge fuss and
it's just not worth the risk for us. Another plant to beware of
(though you're unlikely to grow it deliberately!) is Giant Hogweed.
Euphorbia sap is very irritating to some skins and even daffodils can
have the same effect.
This is another useful site
http://www.gardensearch.co.uk/harmfulplants.htm
and its introduction says
"The following list of potentially harmful plants has been based on
information contained in the Horticultural Retailers Code of Practice.
The Code is compiled by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) who
have worked with the Poisons Unit at Guy's Hospital and The Royal
Botanic Gardens at Kew. "
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

Those are useful links --thanks.
Are you getting at me by saying no one would deliberately grow Giant
Hogweed:-) Heracleum mantegazzianum , a grand name for a plant.
I grow the odd one each year.
Yes it can irritate the skin but it's not life threatening. I believe it's
main claim to fame is that it seeds prolifically and is invasive.
I have seen this plant grown as a solitary specimen at several of the
stately homes-so perhaps one just outside your tea room would look nice:-)



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Old 26-04-2006, 02:05 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
tom&barbara
 
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Emmm... this is a subject I often think about, mainly because I have
limited knowledge about poisonous plants and because I know that I have
some in my garden which worries me at times, not because of my kids
though because they are older now but more because of our 8 month old
puppy who likes to chew things!

I have quite a bit of Monkshood growing in the garden which is very
pretty but is quite deadly, infact very deadly so I am told,
particularly the roots which can kill in minutes and look very much
like horse radish! I also have a lot of digitalis (fox gloves) and
also Euphorbia both of which are poisonous and this is particularly
worrying when you know they are poisonous but don't know the extent of
the damage they do. So I can understand your concern when you have
young children running around the garden, I would want to know exactly
what was what too Hayley.

The only thing I know enough about is the Monkshood and I would avoid
that completely or dig any up if you find it growing in your garden.
It's extremely deadly according to what I have read.

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Old 26-04-2006, 09:56 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Nick Maclaren
 
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In article .com,
"tom&barbara" writes:
|
| The only thing I know enough about is the Monkshood and I would avoid
| that completely or dig any up if you find it growing in your garden.
| It's extremely deadly according to what I have read.

And remember to never grow dwarf, French or runner beans, tomatoes,
potatoes, rhubarb or horseradish.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
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Old 26-04-2006, 10:18 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Robert
 
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"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
:
: In article .com,
: "tom&barbara" writes:
: |
: | The only thing I know enough about is the Monkshood and I would avoid
: | that completely or dig any up if you find it growing in your garden.
: | It's extremely deadly according to what I have read.
:
: And remember to never grow dwarf, French or runner beans, tomatoes,
: potatoes, rhubarb or horseradish.
:
That one tickled me, well done .. are horse radish leaves poisonous? ... I
never knew that so I'd better stop chewing them lol



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Old 26-04-2006, 11:05 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Nick Maclaren
 
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In article ,
"Robert" writes:
|
| : And remember to never grow dwarf, French or runner beans, tomatoes,
| : potatoes, rhubarb or horseradish.
| :
| That one tickled me, well done .. are horse radish leaves poisonous? ... I
| never knew that so I'd better stop chewing them lol

Apparently quite seriously so, but the information came from the same
sort of source that classifies apple pips as a major danger, so believe
it as you will. The others I am surer about.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
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