poisonous plants

When a plant description says "all parts of plants are poisonous" do you need to wear gloves while handling the plant, or in my case bulb? I know in most cases, it's talking about not ingesting the plant or seed.I know this is a DUMB question, but I have never found an answer. Thanks!!

I think you should use lots of care and it doesnt hurt to wash your hands after handling such a plant or bulb or whatever.
Or wear the gloves.
I know one lady that keeps a bucket of soapy water next to where she grows all her brugs.

You can wipe your lip very easily while gardening then lick it and poooooooooooof!

Better safe than sorry

Curious here - how toxic are they? Poof as in dead, or would it be a stomach ache for a day or two for licking a smear from your hands on a lip.

sbarr, I think it would depend on one's health to a great extent. Sometimes just working among the Brugs and making prolonged contact with the leaves on bare arms has made me feel a little ill, but that might just be in my head.

berrygirl, it probably refers to ingesting the plant, as you mention. Surely there would be a sterner warning if touching the plant would be likely to cause a rash, such as poison ivy.

I know a lady who has permanent paralysis on one side of her face and neck from wearing an Angel's Trumpet behind her ear. She didn't know they were poison. She was very sick for a while.

Not all plants that are described as "all parts of plants are poisonous" are like that, tho. Some are more dangerous than others.

Cheri'

Are rhubbarb leaves poisonous?

BIRD

Bird, many people consider them poisonous to eat, and they should be carefully removed from the stalks when making pies. Others disagree, but I'd rather err on the side of caution.

Here is more info on rhubarb than you'll ever need.http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/

Thanks for the hyperlink, Raisedbedbob,

I got what I was looking for plus this limerick.
___________________________________________________

"Your rhubarb, I've noticed it grows
By the outhouse where everyone goes!"
Grandad said, "Lad,
It isn't so bad...
They're family! Just people we knows!"
_____________________________________________________

I am going to send this to my cousin in Sweden who told me that was where the rhubarb grew. (In more colorful language). At the table no less while we were eating a delicious rhubarb dessert prepared by his mother. Bad boy.

BIRD

I can't believe the leaves would be poison if they are sold in the grocery store! My MIL used to tell me that celery leaves and cucumber peelings were poison too. My Mom always chopped up celery leaves for soup, etc. We never peeled a cucumber either, just raked a fork down the sides for decoration - I'm still here!!

Azalea - Take a look at the hyperlink from raisedbedbob's post above. The leaves are not recommended for human consumption.

BIRD

I was specifically wanting to know about the toxicity of the bulbs of naked lady, aka the surprise or magic lily.

I've always believed bulbs to be poisonous, in general.

Thanks Birdsall - You are right - it might take a bunch to cause death, but not a lot to make you sick, especially children. I don't think it should be sold with the leaves on, the average person might not know.

Below is part of that link:

"So for a person about 145 pounds (65.7 kg) that's about 25 grams of pure oxalic acid required to cause death. Rhubarb leaves are probably around 0.5% oxalic acid, so that you would need to eat quite a large serving of leaves, like 5 kg (11 lbs), to get that 24 grams of oxalic acid. Note that it will only require a fraction of that to cause sickness. 57,58,60,61"

Re: Poison Plants

So many of them are poisonous and I am guilty of being careless recently. Here is a portion of a post from another recent thread:

I want to reiterate the need for caution about Euphorbia latex. I've been handling and growing many different varieties for 30 years and have rarely had a problem with them using normal garden hygiene and care. Get it on your skin, wash it off and move on.

Given that, I must relate that in the past month I have had two severe burns from two different Euphorbias. A 2" x 4" burn on my arm from wrestling with the common garden Gopher Spurge (aka Purge) and a burn from the bridge of my nose clear across my cheek from a Euphorbia in my greenhouse. Both traumas occured because I was being careless. They look like second degree burns with a case of poison ivy/oak on top of them. Healing time is about 2 weeks with the use of antibiotic ointment and something like Benedryl.

I don't think this is something to be taken lightly particularly if a person has the tendency to be allergic to other things. Each episode (perhaps 5 in 30 years) has been much more severe than the prior episode. The mark across my cheek is still sensitive and will take some time to go away completely.

Better safe than sorry.

And a link to an article on the care that should be taken with Euphorbia: http://www.theamateursdigest.com/epoisons.htm

Another thing to remember is that pets and young children should be supervised carefully if you have known toxic plants in your garden. My daughter who is a vet sees pets on a regular basis that have ingested toxic plants. The outcome is not always a happy one.