Thursday 28 October 2021

Poisons that open your eyes

“There are poisons that blind you, and poisons that open your eyes.” - August Strindberg, The Ghost Sonata

As we are on the cusp of two annual seasonal events - the over-commercialised "spook-fest-turned-plastic-skeleton-tat-sales-device" Hallowe'en, and (far more engrossing pour moi) the Infomaniac Garden Photos Event 2021 (read all about it here), being hosted once again by the lovely Mr Inexplicable DeVice - I thought I'd combine the spirits of both into one.

A surprising number of common garden plants are potentially lethal - and we grow an awful lot of them, it seems, in the extensive gardens at Dolores Delargo Towers!

Here's the "Hall of Infamy"...

Daffodil poisoning doesn't lead to a fatal end, even in pets, but the reactions are unpleasant. Symptoms include vomiting, dehydration, drooling and stomach ache. In some cases, tremors, convulsions and heart irregularities can be observed.

Hyacinth bulbs are poisonous, causing nausea, vomiting, gasping, convulsions, and possibly death. Even handling the bulbs can cause skin irritation.

Seeds and roots of Aquilegia (Columbine) contain cardiogenic toxins which cause both severe gastroenteritis and heart palpitations if consumed. Native Americans used very small amounts of the root as an effective treatment for peptic ulcers. However, medical use of this plant is difficult due to its high toxicity; Columbine poisonings are easily fatal.

Digitalis (Foxglove) leaves, seeds, and flowers are deadly poisonous, containing cardiac or other steroid glycosides. Clinical symptoms include increased heart rate, nausea, vomiting, seizures. Antidotes may be needed in potential life-threatening cases, to deal with the toxin.

The lovely Lily-of-the Valley contains a toxin that can easily induce fatigue, diarrhoea and vomiting. Extreme poisoning after ingestion of the plant leads to irregular heart beat and mental confusion. Even a small dosage is enough to be fatal to pets and children.

All parts of the Bluebell plant contain toxic glycocides that are poisonous to humans, dogs, horses and cattle. If any part of the plant is eaten, it can cause serious stomach upset, and if consumed in large quantities, may be fatal. The bulbs are easily mistaken for spring onions or garlic.

Lobelia is considered to be potentially toxic. Symptoms of ingestion of large quantities include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, salivation, exhaustion and weakness, dilation of pupils, convulsions, and coma. The plant contains a number of toxic alkaloids including lobelamine and lobeline.

Ipomoea (Morning Glory) seeds contain chemicals similar to LSD. Ingestion may cause severe discomfort. Wear gloves and wash hands after handling.

Then there is the deadliest of the lot (and new for us this year; grown from seed), the Castor Oil Plant, Ricinus! Lab experiments with human cell cultures have shown that penetration of just a single molecule of ricin into the cytoplasm of a cell is lethal - and indeed, ricin was the poison notoriously despatched from the point of an umbrella to kill the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in 1978.

Even Nicotiana can be toxic to some people, apparently. Not to us, obviously, as nicotine makes up a substantial part of our DNA (alongside alcohol and caffeine)...

I need an appropriate song to finish off. What could it be? Britney? Alice Cooper? Naaaah.

This "one-hit-wonder" is my choice:

"You can look but you’d better not touch!"

Indeed.

16 comments:

  1. Things the most beautiful are often the most deadliest.

    I didn't use to call me Lily of the Valley for nothing.

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    1. And there's me thinking they called you "Poison Ivy" - or is it "Morning Glory"? Jx

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  2. Blimey, I haven't heard that tune in ages!
    You see - this is why I stay out of the garden!!
    Sx

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    1. I am sure your unruly pink bush is not toxic, Ms Scarlet! Jx

      PS I hadn't heard that choon for years, either.

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  3. So much bobbing about and energy expended for such a lousy song.

    My vote: Death by Hyacinth - it sounds like a signature fragrance by a very mundane drag queen. Still... just the thought of it?

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    1. If we're onto drag names, "Lobelia Toxin" has to be a good 'un!

      Jx

      PS Obviously, America never "got" the British "Ska revival" of the late '70s/early '80s. Post-Punk and Pre-New Romantics, this was the sound of our charts, with the likes of The Special AKA, The Beat, Madness, The Selector, Bad Manners and their ilk dominating the airwaves.

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  4. If I had the time and effort to make myself a costume this year it would likely be as Poison Ivy or possibly something thematic like a climate change ravaged Mother Earth. I rarely go the dramatic route when doing things, but when I do, I go big or go home!

    His bounciness annoys me. Hahaha.

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    1. Don't dress as a daffodil. They may be toxic, but they're not scary. Jx

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  5. Hahaha! right on target for our Garden Extravaganza. As most of you know, I hail from New Zealand and we have a doozy...Locally, called toot. I think some hippy folk tried it, back when hippies tried all sorts of things! And I can remember the original Poison Ivy in 1959 httpps://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/coriaria-arborea-var-arborea/

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    1. It's also called the "Tutu Tree"! How apt... Jx

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    2. Tutu is no drag queen! People have been seriously poisoned eating honey from tutu nectar and I did once hear of someone who used its twigs for bbq skewers...
      But your selections are delightful...

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  6. Ah, you found an outlet for your Poisonous Plants, then! A veritable witch's garden. Although, Aquilegia and Lobelia are new ones to me - I had no idea!

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    1. It is amazing, really, how many plants we think of as benign are actually merely biding their time before they kill us all and conquer the planet! Jx

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  7. Fascinating stuff. Will put monkshood and Solanum on our wish list

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    Replies
    1. If only our garden got enough sunshine to grow Oleander, too! Jx

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