POISONOUS PLANTS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4897, 30 October 1925, Page 3

POISONOUS PLANTS.

SOME COMMON VARIETIES. PROTECTION AGAINST ENEMIES. Unless of ar observant, inquiringnature, cr paiticviarly interested in plant life, one may not see anything highly interesting in the fact that, while some plants are edible or at least jipn-injurious, others are very deadly. The reason is that the plant has acquired a poisonous characteristic as a protection against natural enemies or parasites. Nature’s ways are very wonderful when one peers beneath the surface of things. The common garden lettuce, for instance, has a tender -bel ; t near the ground which,-.when insects try to crawl up the lettuce from the ground, becomes lacerated and exudes a flow of milk. The z insect becomes, stuck in the milky mass and is foiled. A number of the flowers of which we are fond contain deadly poisons. The daffodil’s long narrow leaves contain a powerful irritant poison. They should never be chewed. The common foxglove contains a poison which has the most extraordinary effect upon the heart, whose action may be reduced to only seventeen beats to the minute. Of anyone .thus poisoned the 'pupils of the eyes are’widely dilated, and his only chance of life is to lie absolutely still until the doctor arrives Everyone knows the wild, arum>or cuckooplant, with its big, heart-shaped, glossy leaves. A most dangerous plant it is. If you chew a leaf your tongue swells, enormously—so much so that you will be almost unable to.swallow. Melted butter is;the .best remedy for poisoning by this plant. The most dangerous of all common hedgerow plants is the aconite, or monk’s hood, which has palm-shaped leaves. A very small dose causes a strange tingling all over the body and partial blindness. A little more, and death is certain. All are plants which are more or Tess attractive to the eye. There are others which seem to advertise themselves as dangerous—the hemlock, for/instance. If you pinch a leaf it emits a nasty mousy odour; It is very poisonous, being a powerful, narcotic. The sufferer , sinks into a drowsy state, ‘ which,'if remedies are not at hand, ends in death. All the night shades should be avoided. There are also many -common shrubs the leaves of which, if eaten, produce unpleasant results. Among them are the common privet, the elder, holly, and laburnum.