Did You Know?

The active ingredient in Viagra can be found naturally in walnuts.

 

Oleander.  Whatever element of surprise this deadly beauty had was probably ruined when Janet Fitch's 1999 novel White Oleander got big: the mom in the story killed her womanizing boyfriend by smearing a concoction that included oleander sap all over his stuff. I know, you're skeptical: could that really kill someone? The answer: yep. Small amounts can be lethal or nearly lethal for adults, and you definitely want to keep kids and pets away from it. It's pretty uncommon around these parts though: fewer than 1,000 cases of oleander poisoning are reported in the U.S. every year. In places like Sri Lanka, though, suicide by oleander seed is becoming way too common. The pretty plant grows wild by the roadside and people have started taking it for trivial reasons because it's so easy to get. One doctor  reported that a teenage girl took a seed because her mother refused to take her shopping. Zantedeschia.  If you think this looks like a Calla lily, that's 'cause it is. Every part of this plant is toxic, but only if ingested - so if you're planning on having them in your wedding bouquet or something, don't worry. Touching the stem isn't going to kill you. If you take it home as a post-wedding snack, that's when you're in trouble: eating the Zantedeschia species has been the death of both livestock and children; symptoms include swelling of the mouth and throat, acute vomiting and diarrhea.

 

Hellebore.  There's a good reason it pops up when authors need to make witches concoct potions and powders: it has been known for its toxic properties since ancient times. At least, "black" hellebore (aka Christmas Rose) has been - it causes everything from vertigo and thirst to swelling of the throat and cardiac arrest. But it's also used in some medicines; some historians think that Alexander the Great was taking medicine with hellebore in it and may have accidentally overdosed on it. It was also used in the First Sacred War between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the City of Kirrha - Solon of Athens added a bunch of hellebore to Kirrha's water supply and supposedly the city was so sick with diarrhea that they couldn't fight back when Solon's troops invaded. Fool's Parsley is related to poison hemlock. If you're trying to off someone, though, it would be pretty silly to use Fool's Parsley: it's easily detected. It can inflame the eyelids and makes the stomach lining very red and irritated. But like hellebore, it has its good side, too: a really diluted form of the plant can help stop seizures in little kids.

 

Zantedeschia.  If you think this looks like a Calla lily, that's 'cause it is. Every part of this plant is toxic, but only if ingested - so if you're planning on having them in your wedding bouquet or something, don't worry. Touching the stem isn't going to kill you. If you take it home as a post-wedding snack, that's when you're in trouble: eating the Zantedeschia species has been the death of both livestock and children; symptoms include swelling of the mouth and throat, acute vomiting and diarrhea.

 

Fool's Parsley is related to poison hemlock. If you're trying to off someone, though, it would be pretty silly to use Fool's Parsley: it's easily detected. It can inflame the eyelids and makes the stomach lining very red and irritated. But like hellebore, it has its good side, too: a really diluted form of the plant can help stop seizures in little kids.