HOME SAFETY : Young Children Run Greatest Risk of Plant Poisoning

One in 10 inquiries to poison control centers across the nation concern plant poisonings.

The greatest danger from poisoning is to young children--who like to taste everything as part of their explorations of the world around them.

The bulk of the plant-related inquiries to poison centers concern children younger than 3 years; in only a small percentage of these cases does the child actually have symptoms of poisoning.

Philodendron and diffenbachia are responsible for the first and second most reported poisonings, respectively. These plants are in the Araceae family, a group of plants with needle-like crystals of calcium oxalate in the leaves and stems.

When chewed, the crystals cause immediate pain in the mouth and throat, which commonly leads to swelling. This makes speech difficult and is the origin for the common name dumbcane for diffenbachia species.

If enough philodendron or diffenbachia leaves are eaten, vomiting and diarrhea, even death, could follow. Other houseplants in this family include elephant’s ear (Alocasia spp.), flamingo flower (Anthurium spp.) and caladium (Caladium bicolor).

Poinsettias are ranked third as far as the number of reported (not actual) poisonings nationwide. Actually, poinsettias are not poisonous--but they have a reputation for being so. While the poinsettia is not toxic, it is a member of the spurge family, which includes many toxic plants. Guilt by association, perhaps.

Members of the spurge family contain a milky latex in their sap, and this latex can cause dermatitis. A houseplant spurge that does warrant caution is the crown-of-thorns, which, as long as we are talking about danger to children, also is heavily armed with stout thorns.

Many bulbs are in the lily family, another family with many poisonous members. The daintiness of lily of the valley belies the fact that it contains a potent cardiac glycoside (much like the digitalis found in foxgloves), which even leaches into the water of cut flowers.

Hyacinths are wonderfully fragrant, yet also toxic. All parts of daffodils contain lycorine, a toxic substance that can cause dermatitis with skin contact and diarrhea and convulsions if ingested. Lycorine is also found in another winter bulb, amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp.).

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A few other houseplants in widely scattered plant families also are toxic.

The Jerusalem cherry ( Solanum pseudocapsicum ), a houseplant with brightly colored berries, is in the deadly nightshade family. The family name tells you something about the plant’s toxic properties.

Mistletoe is not a houseplant, per se, yet it is a plant often in the house in wintertime. The white berries, which tend to fall to the ground as the plants dry, are toxic. The leaves of English ivy, grown indoors and out, are toxic also.

No need to cast a somber cloud over these houseplants. But it is important to know which are toxic so as to keep them beyond the inquisitive reach of very young hands.

If a child does ingest a plant, save part of the plant for positive identification, then call a poison control center. It is not always advisable to induce vomiting, as this can further spread irritating materials.

Now why does an otherwise friendly looking philodendron have to strike a menacing chord with a toxin in its leaves?

Inside our homes, over-watering or under-watering probably is the biggest threat to any houseplant’s existence.

But out in the jungle, a philodendron needs some way to ward off a big gorilla who might find the leaves an appetizing salad. In this case, a burning, swollen mouth is a good deterrent.