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:

The Lambrettas - Poison Ivy

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

Indeed.

Don't anger the Fairies

Blossoms and bluebells have gone, and it's time for a new pretender to the throne here in the gardens at Dolores Delargo Towers...

From the Gardens Ablaze site:

The alternate names for Foxglove give a glimpse into how embedded this plant is in Fairy and Magick folklore, and includes Fairy Petticoats, Fairy Thimbles, Fairy Fingers, Fairy Weed, Fox Mittens, Witches Bells, Witches Thimbles, Folks Gloves, and Fox Bells. Indeed, the name Foxglove itself is derived from a legend that says that evil Fairies gave a fox the flower petals to put on his toes so that he could rob the chicken house without being heard - thus the name "fox glove."

Fairy gardens have become quite popular, and Foxglove is a must-have for attracting Fairies. Fairies supposedly play within the flowers, and each spot inside marks the spot where a Fairy has touched the surface. Placed in front of the house, Foxglove is believed to protect the occupants from evil influences. Picking Foxglove from the garden and bringing it inside is believed to anger the Fairies. Placed in a charm or talisman, a piece of Foxglove flower is believed to keep one inside protective Fairy light.

I do love a bit of "Fairy light", don't you? But the foxglove's usefulness goes further than folklore...

From "Molecule of the Month":

Digitalis is an example of a cardio-active or cardiotonic drug, in other words a steroid which has the ability to exert a specific and powerful action on the cardiac muscle in animals, and has been used in the treatment of heart conditions ever since its discovery in 1775.

The discovery of digitalis is accredited to the Scottish doctor William Withering, and makes for quite an interesting historical story. While working as a physician in Staffordshire in the 18th Century, his girlfriend got him interested in plants and botany - so much so, that in 1776 he published a huge treatise, whose title begins 'A botanical arrangement of all the vegetables growing in Great Britain...' and goes on for a further 24 lines.

In 1775, one of his patients came to him with a very bad heart condition and since Withering had no effective treatment for him, thought he was going to die. The patient, being an independent type, went instead to a local gypsy, took a secret herbal remedy - and promptly got much better!

When Withering heard about this, he became quite excited and searched for the gypsy throughout the by-ways of Shropshire. Eventually he found her, and demanded to know what was in the secret remedy. After much bargaining, the gypsy finally told her secret. The herbal remedy was made from a whole concoction of things, but the active ingredient was the Purple Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). The potency of digitalis extract had been known since the dark ages, when it had been used as a poison for the mediaeval 'trial by ordeal', and also used as an external application to promote the healing of wounds.

So Withering tried out various formulations of digitalis plant extracts on 163 patients, and found that if he used the dried, powdered leaf, he got amazingly successful results. He introduced its use officially in 1785.

Is it any wonder we are obsessed with plants?