Toxic Garden Plants
Although you may use your garden as a relaxing sanctuary, there may be danger lurking in its allure, especially in the case of younger children and your family pets. Some beautiful plants you cherish for their beauty can easily be disguised as toxic killers if ingested within minutes, whether they're consumed accidentally or out of curiosity. Here are some common types to be aware of, states Tammy Sons from Tn Nursery.
Foxglove
Foxglove is a mysterious-looking plant that can grow as high as 3 feet tall with drooping white, pink, or purple flowers along the central stalk that sometimes has dots inside. Digitalis purpurea is its Latin name, which may sound a bit familiar to you since the plant's leaves are a financial resource of the heart drug Digitalis. If any part of the foxglove is consumed, you'll likely suffer an episode of nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and mouth pain.
Wisteria
Wisterias create dreamy sweetpea-like flower cascades with vibrant pink, blue, or white colors from vines that mainly grow in the South. The whole plant is considered toxic. Eating this plant will induce nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and cramps that may require treatments such as anti-nausea pills or intravenous hydration.
Rhododendron
Both rhododendrons and azalea bushes, with their attractive bell-shaped flowers, look beautiful in the springtime. However, their leaves are pretty toxic, and the honey is derived from the flower's nectar. Consuming these evergreen shrubs will burn your mouth along with increased salivation, a tingling sensation in your skin, diarrhea, and vomiting. Dim vision, weak muscles, and headaches will likely follow. Also, your heart rate may beat strangely or slow down. In some cases, you could even slip into a coma and experience a fatal convulsion.
Hydrangea
This pretty flowery bush is a typical yard ornament that can reach heights of 15 feet high with greenish-white, deep blue, or rose-colored flowers that form large clusters and look as safe to eat as cotton candy to a small child or pet. However, those enticing blooms will cause a stomach ache that can develop hours after consumption.
Oleander
Every square inch of the entire oleander is toxic, different from other plants that may only have poisonous sap or flowers. Even accidentally inhaling the smoke from burning oleander is toxic. Other issues may arise from using them as marshmallow roasting sticks or drinking the water where the clusters of white, pink, or red flowers were placed. Usually, the symptoms include an abnormal heart rate, whether it's palpitations or slowing down.
Lily-of-the-valley
These lovely drooping flowers also referred to as mayflowers, are 100 percent toxic, from the very end of their small bell-shaped flowers that demurely fall away like parted hair to the water where they're placed. Ingesting just a bit of the bulb will likely be okay. But, if a great deal is consumed, be ready for nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, and mouth pain. It's also likely that your heart rate will become irregular or slow down.
Chrysanthemum
Frequently called mums, these attractive flowers' yellow and orange varieties are showcased in the fall around Halloween and Thanksgiving on the front steps of people's homes. There are around 200 species of mums, and although they typically grow relatively close to the ground, they can turn into shrubs. Gardeners often plant mums to deter rabbits, and the flower heads can be somewhat toxic to humans. Touching them can potentially make your skin inflamed or itch.
Although extreme cases of plant poisoning are rare, be mindful that some domestic garden plant varieties can potentially present a hazard, leading to allergies or skin reactions.
Find out all types of helpful gardening tips and information on plants and gardening at TN Nursery Blog
