Worlds most dangerous plants… in your yard

Some of the worlds most dangerous plants are likely in your yard and you might not even know it.  Your garden is a beautifully dangerous place. While they give us food for our tables, stunning scents, and vibrantly colored flora and fauna, our leaf babies would rather we become their food.  They have developed some devious defenses to help them. It super important to know what you’re growing in your garden. It’s equally important to be able to identify surprise leaf babies so you know whether they’re safe of they’re trying to kill you.

Some dangerous plants are deadly

Sure poison ivy isn’t so likely to kill you as long as you treat the rash, but some of those plants are sneaky, and you might be inviting them home, from the garden center, to live with you.

Take Columbine for example

 

beautiful double blooms that don’t mind chilly weather they get bushy and reseed coming back bigger and fuller every year… But only because they’re trying to kill you! While it’s been reported that Native Americans ate the leaves in small quantities, the seeds and roots of these dangerous plants contain toxins that cause severe gastrointestinal issues  and heart palpitations and in some cases… death.  Oddly enough the woodchuck doesn’t seem to mind and if we don’t bait him away from the garden will gladly chew our flouring purple stockpile straight to the ground

Oh and we suppose you think those hyacinth smell beautiful

That’s just what they want you to think… Come over here and smell us… So we can kill you!

They’re beautiful to look at, they smell amazing and they are also very dangerous plants.  While the flowers and leaves are only poisonous in large quantities the bulbs… oh the bulbs. Eating hyacinth bulbs (because that idea totally popped into your head, right?) can induce nausea, vomiting, gasping, convulsions, and possibly death. It’s also a good idea to wear gloves when planting these leaf babies on account of even handling the bulbs can cause skin irritation.

Most of the fruits and veggies you have in your garden are dangerous plants

Beans may be the musical fruit, but, if you try and eat your red kidney beans straight from the garden and don’t cook them , you could end up in a stomach flu like state for a few hours.

Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers and more are members of the deadly nightshade family, point of reference, Atropa Belladonna is one of the  most dangerous plants in the western hemisphere. C’mon it didn’t earn the name “deadly nightshade” because it makes great smoothies. You also might notice it as a weed in your garden on account of… well you’re not going to find it in your garden center… or, well, maybe you have one of those off center garden centers that are into that sort of thing.  Anyway, according to Wikipedia (the current sum of all human knowledge or lack their of) the effects of deadly nightshade poisoning are

The symptoms of poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions…. AND death…

Now your tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc are not quite that harmful, well, as long as you eat the parts that are meant to be eaten and don’t do something stupid like make tea out of the leaves or roots, or eat unripe fruits… that has been reported to have caused fatalities

And now for the moral of the dangerous plants story

Whether you’re a budding gardener, plant professional or somewhere in between, know whats in your soil. Know which plants are dangerous to you, and know which plants are dangerous to children and pets. Take the time to learn about your leaf babies, use resources like the USDA, your local gardening association or even your garden club on social media. Don’t let your dangerous plants bury you.

Oh and one more thing…

Did you notice the complete absence of poinsettia from this list? Well except for now that is.  At first glance you probably thought it was on account of we were focusing on outdoor plants… Which is true… but, its also because Everyone agrees Poinsettias are NOT Poisonous !