OLEANDERRecently I wrote about a plant called Yesterday-Today- Tomorrow. I found out it was poisonous and decided against putting it in my yard. I also decided to do some research on other plants I like to see how they stack up in the poison department.
There are many plants that cause an adverse reaction when they are eaten or their sap contacts skin. A partial list of common outdoor plants includes angel trumpet, oleander, poinsettia, Castor bean, autumn crocus, delphinium, bleeding heart, and lily of the valley. Some common indoor plants that are toxic are dieffenbachia, caladium and various species of philodendron.
Some of these I knew and some I didn't. I found out about Oleanders when we wanted to plant them a few years back. They are planted down the middle of one of our highways, here on the Coast and look so pretty. Billy loves them but I just thought it was too big a chance to take with little animals running all over. This was when we lived in the country and not only our little four legged babies but the wildlife could have been at risk.
The University of California provides an extensive list on their Web site.
If you look up the University in your state, you will find info for your local plants. The library of Congress also provides many booklets on this subject. Some you will have to pay for though.
Another useful Web site is one maintained by the ASPCA.
ASPCA SITE
Here is a list of poisonous plants from the South.
POISONOUS PLANTS OF THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES
But keep in mind that we all do plant things in our yard or garden, with some part of it being poison, like the tomato plant...the fruit are fine but the plant itself can be dangerous if ingested. So take what you can use and throw out the rest as my Mama would say. I just like to know the ones that are dangerous so I can make an educated decision on whether on not to grow them.
