Poisonous Plants Are Everywhere. Some Can Kill. Keep Yourself and Your Kids Safe By Getting to Know Them.

All mushrooms are edible. Some are only edible once. — Terry Prachett

You might be joining the foraging craze and picking up edible wildflowers on your camping trip, but even if you're not, chances are that you occasionally come across such a pretty plant that it's hard to keep your hands to yourself. Before you can even think about it, you reach out to feel the leaves and caress the flowers. Despite the growing hand hygiene awareness, for which we can thank COVID-19, you may even pop that hand in your mouth as you mindlessly grab a snack soon after.

The story usually ends there, as many plants with toxic characteristics aren't especially life-threatening.

Extremely poisonous plants are everywhere — in the wild on your hike, in your garden, in your home or your auntie's, or even (hopefully not) at your kids' school — and if you didn’t know them before, you couldn’t possibly tell they were toxic. Some plants are harmful only when eaten, while others cause contact dermatitis. In the worst case scenario, some plants can even kill you. This is why it’s incredibly important to know how to identify poisonous plants and what to do if you or someone you care about has ingested one.

What? Why Do I Need to Know Which Plants Can Kill?

You may think that it is unlikely that you will ever be affected by a poisonous plant. That may be true, especially if you live an urban life, but you simply never know. Thousands of poisonous plants exist, and there are definitely some in your area right now; some are even kept as houseplants. These really toxic plants could be just about anywhere, from a big forest to a parking lot, or even in your backyard. Poisonous plants could look as innocent as a pretty little flower or have enticing berries. They may closely resemble other non-poisonous plants, too.

The consequences of not educating yourself about poisonous plants are too severe to overlook. It’s very possible that a gorgeous looking plant can kill you if you ingest it, and if you can’t tell poisonous plants apart from safe ones, you could accidentally put yourself in a dangerous situation. Not just those who go foraging and camping are at risk, though those people should definitely know their plants before going out.

Just because you don’t put yourself out in the wild and interact with many different plants everyday doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know about dangerous plants. For all you know, you could find an interesting looking plant in a parking lot while shopping, only to realize it’s too late after your small toddler begins munching on it.

What to Do If You Think You Or Someone Else Has Ingested a Poisonous Plant

So, you believe that you or someone you care about has eaten a poisonous plant? What now? You can’t prevent what has already happened, but you can do everything in your power to prevent it from getting worse. The sooner you act, the higher chance that the poison won’t have enough time to cause serious damage. What can you do?

The most important thing to do is to call poison control immediately. Do not wait until symptoms arise, and call as soon as possible. This is the best thing anyone can do. Stay calm and explain your situation. Keep the plant in question with you in a safe plastic bag to help doctors identify it, which can determine the treatment.

If you don’t already know the number for your local poison control center, look it up now. The national poison hotline in the United States is 1-800-222-1222. This won’t only come in handy when it comes to poisonous plants, but in just about any situation. Always remember where nearby hospitals are, especially when going out on hikes.

What do you do if you can’t call emergency services, though?

When touching a plant that causes contact dermatitis, immediately take off any clothes that may have touched the plant. Thoroughly wash your skin with soap and water. Try to get to a hospital as soon as possible if serious symptoms arise. Consuming a poisonous plant can, however, lead to much more severe symptoms, and will need a slightly different approach:

• Before anything else, get rid of any part of the plant which may still be in your mouth.
• Completely rinse out your mouth with water, do this many times.
• After rinsing out your mouth, see if you can notice any swelling, irritation, or discoloration.

You will want to try and get to a hospital as soon as possible.

If your toddler or pet consumes a toxic plant, it’s pretty much the same process. Call a hospital or vet as soon as possible, knowing these emergency numbers at all times.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure: How to Stay Safe Around Plants

While knowing what to do after you get affected by a poisonous plant is good, in the best case scenario, you won’t get poisoned by a plant in the first place. The best way to deal toxic plants is to prevent the risk of ever getting poisoned. How?

Avoid interacting with any plants you don’t know aren’t poisonous. When foraging, know how to identify which plants are edible and which ones are poisonous. Keep an eye on toddlers, not adding any poisonous plants to your backyard. If you have pets, don’t get plants known to be toxic to them.

Some of the most dangerous plants in the world include:

• Yew shrubs have appealing looking bright red berries that will catch the eye of your small toddler. Though their gorgeous berries may look tasty, they are in fact extremely toxic, along with every other part of the yew plant. Consuming this poisonous berry will cause trembling, nervousness, a slow or lower pulse, dilated pupils, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, and even death.
• Azalea or Rhododendron has absolutely beautiful and fragrant blooms, don’t let that trick you, though, because all parts of the azalea shrub are poisonous to humans. Watering eyes and nose, salvation, fatigue, depression, paralysis that slowly progresses of both your arms and legs, cardiac failure, and even coma are just some of the nasty symptoms you’ll get if you consume any part of the azalea.
• The Virginia creeper’s blue and black berries can kill both pets and humans if eaten. Though their vibrant green foliage may look appealing, the fruit of these creeping vines can cause headaches, bloody vomiting, dilated pupils, a weak pulse, sweating, drowsiness, and twitching of your face.
• Deadly nightshade gets its name for a reason, as eating any part of it could kill you. Even an open wound touching the leaves could cause fatal consequences. Despite this fact, deadly nightshade is often used as a medicinal herb in homeopathy, thought to be able to treat many things, including pain and inflammation.
• Mountain laurels are stunning evergreen shrubs and while their unique blooms may look interesting to the unsuspecting, these plants are extremely poisonous and can kill you. Ingesting this plant may cause muscular degradation, cardiac failure, paralysis of your legs, depression, and weakness. Symptoms will usually appear only a couple of hours after eating this plant.
• The bittersweet nightshade plant, like its cousin the deadly nightshade in the same family, is very deadly to humans. Unlike deadly nightshade, however, the berries of this nightshade plant are much more colorful and look a lot more appealing, especially to little kids. The berries come in very vibrant shades of red, green, and yellow and could look like “little candies” to toddlers.
• The poison sumac is unlike others in this list, as even just touching this plant is bad news for you. Because all parts of this plant cause contact dermatitis, you’ll need to be especially wary around it. If you do end up touching this plant to take a closer look, you may end up with redness, a very itch rash, swelling and blisters, a fever, and a hard time breathing. Just inhaling the fumes of a burning poison sumac can be deadly, as it will inflame your lungs.

This very small list of poisonous plants barely scratches the surface, and is only there to give you a small idea of just how deadly some plants can be. If you are interested in learning more about the many poisonous plants out there, we recommend looking for the toxic plants native to your region. This doesn’t mean just reading a few paragraphs about them, but looking at visual pictures too, so you can identify the plant next time you see it. Learning about the toxic plants that grow near you could even save your life one day.