Advertisement

Nontoxic Beauties

Share

They are not poisonous.

Though the white, milky sap that identifies the poinsettia as a euphorbia can cause skin irritation on some individuals, the plants are not poisonous, as widely--and wrongly--believed. Poison control centers list them as nontoxic and have never recorded a fatality due to ingesting poinsettias. In one 1996 study by PoisonIndex Information Service, only 4% of those who ingested poinsettias needed any treatment at all.

Advertisement