Datura - poisonous?
 

How come if Datrura are poisonous mine are eaten to shreds (looks like slug
damage).

Do the slugs have a cast iron constitution?

Trevor


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Datura - poisonous?
 

In article ,
trevor.appleton writes
How come if Datrura are poisonous mine are eaten to shreds (looks like slug
damage).

Do the slugs have a cast iron constitution?

What is poisonous to an organism depends on the organism's make up and
the chemical processes that go to make its digestive system. IIRC
chocolate is poisonous to dogs.

If other organisms could eat only those things which we can eat safely,
how would dead plants and animals ever decay?
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Datura - poisonous?
 

In article ,
Kay Easton wrote:
In article ,
trevor.appleton writes
How come if Datrura are poisonous mine are eaten to shreds (looks like slug
damage).

Do the slugs have a cast iron constitution?

What is poisonous to an organism depends on the organism's make up and
the chemical processes that go to make its digestive system. IIRC
chocolate is poisonous to dogs.

Yes, precisely. It isn't commonly known, but we are actually one of
the more flexible mammals in this respect, as we have a scavenger's
digestion. Not as extreme as some, but we can eat almost anything a
Norway rat can eat, and that is saying something!

But we aren't as resistant to plant alkaloids as slugs.

If other organisms could eat only those things which we can eat safely,
how would dead plants and animals ever decay?

Very, very slowly, by chemical decomposition :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Datura - poisonous?
 

"trevor.appleton" wrote in message
...
How come if Datrura are poisonous mine are eaten to shreds (looks like
slug
damage).

Do the slugs have a cast iron constitution?

It's very, very poisonous to us, but not to everything else. That goes for a
lot of things; datura, deadly nightshade, foxglove, etc. I guess that's
simply a way that the plant has evolved to ensure that the right thing comes
along and eats it :)