Common Poisonous Plants of New England

Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes:

Underscores “” before and after a word or phrase indicate italics_ in the original text. Equal signs “=” before and after a word or phrase indicate =bold= in the original text.

COMMON POISONOUS PLANTS OF NEW ENGLAND

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Public Health Service

This material was prepared by Heber W. Youngken, Jr., Ph. D., Dean of the College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston; and Joseph S. Karas, M.D., Director of the Poison Control Center at Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, and is published by the Rhode Island Health Department in cooperation with the U.S. Public Health Service, Division of Accident Prevention. The photographs were provided by Dean Youngken.

RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Division of Health Education and Information and THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

In Cooperation With U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

Public Health Service Division of Accident Prevention Washington, D.C. 20201

Public Health Service Publication No. 1220 April 1964

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C., 20402

Price 35 cents

COMMON POISONOUS PLANTS OF NEW ENGLAND

Page Introduction ii Amanita mushroom 1 Baneberry 2 Bittersweet 3 Bloodroot 4 Castor bean 5 Christmas rose 6 Daphne 7 Deadly nightshade 8 Foxglove 9 Green hellebore 10 Indian hemp 11 Jimson weed 12 Larkspur 13 Lily-of-the-valley 14 Monkshood 15 Poison-hemlock 16 Poison-ivy 17 Pokeweed 18 Water hemlock 19 Yew 20 Poison Control Centers 21 Plant Index 23

INTRODUCTION

Prompted by the many telephone calls and inquiries received at the Rhode Island Poison Control and Information Centers regarding plants, flowers, and berries, the State Department of Health has developed the information contained in this booklet. It will aid families in planning safe gardens, give fuller knowledge of wild plants, and, in the case of an accidental ingestion, provide assistance in identifying the plant. Since verbal descriptions are frequently inadequate, and nonprofessional determination of species often uncertain, there has been a need for a more expedient means of identifying plants and their toxicity.

Because the toxicity of these plants will vary with the size of the child, the season, and the quantity and part of the plant eaten, it is necessary that a physician determine the necessary treatment for each case.

=THIS BOOKLET ENCOURAGES THE EMPTYING OF THE STOMACH OF A VICTIM BY VOMITING AS A GENERAL MEASURE IN PREVENTING SERIOUS INJURY.

VOMITING SHOULD NOT BE INDUCED IF THE VICTIM IS UNCONSCIOUS OR CONVULSING.=

Some basic information is included for physicians who might be unaware of the toxic principles and their effects in these particular plants. Although the seriousness of each accident must be judged individually, it is necessary that the plant be accurately identified and that sufficient information on its toxicity be readily available. Many other poisonous plants could have been included in this booklet, but, the purpose was to discuss those found most commonly, although not exclusively, in the New England States.

The names and telephone numbers of the Poison Control Centers in the New England area are included for the convenience of your physician. (See page 21.)

Cover picture: European bittersweet Solanum dulcamara (see page 3)

AMANITA MUSHROOM

Amanita muscaria--AGARICACEAE]

=Description=: One of the most poisonous of the mushrooms (toadstools). Found mostly in woody areas, along roadsides, and waste places, especially at the base of pine and similar trees. Unlike many edible mushrooms, this poisonous amanita has a fleshy bulb-like base and yellow stalk (stipe) with scaly growths and a cap or top (pileus). Often a white ring (annulus) of soft ragged tissue may be observed on the stalk under its cap. All amanita mushrooms should, in general, be considered poisonous. The top, which may be 3 to 6 inches wide, varies in color from bright orange to red with white to gray warty growths on it. Under the cap are numerous very white gills which distinguish this mushroom from most edible types. The latter usually have pink to purple gills. These mushrooms form in groups, or are scattered.

Other poisonous mushrooms found in New England are the Death Cup, Amanita phalloides; jack-o’-lantern, Clitocybe illudens; Shaggy mane, Coprinus comatus; and the Boletus and Russula species. There are many others. Perhaps the best precaution is to avoid eating any mushroom not certified by an expert to be edible.

=Poisonous Parts=: All portions are poisonous. The chief toxic principle is an alkaloid, =muscarine=. Amanita poisoning is characterized by intense sweating, salivation, wheezing, irregular breathing and heart beat. If not treated promptly, it =can be fatal= within an hour depending upon quantities consumed.

=Antidote=: Call your doctor. Have patient vomit. Physicians perform gastric lavage and treat for =muscarine= alkaloid poisoning or excessive muscarinic stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, also dehydration. Atropine and other similar drugs counteract the effects of =muscarine=.

BANEBERRY

Part 2

Actaea rubra and Actaea alba--RANUNCULACEAE]

=Description=: The red and white baneberries are perennial herbs found in woodlands and occasionally as showy plants in gardens. Leaves are large on many branches and resemble those of the wildcurrant. The small flowers are white in spring. Plants generally grow about 1 to 2 feet in height. The attractive parts are the red or white berries which develop during summer and early autumn. They are in clusters on terminal flower stalks, each on a conspicuous short fleshy pedicel. Children have been poisoned by eating the berries.

=Poisonous Parts=: The root stock, sap, and berries. These produce marked irritation of the stomach and intestines causing nausea and violent purgation. If absorbed, the acrid principles can affect the heart, increase the pulse rate, and cause dizziness. Fatalities have been reported.

=Antidote=: Call your doctor. Have patient vomit. Physicians perform gastric lavage and treat gastric inflammation and circulatory failure.

BITTERSWEET

Solanum dulcamara--SOLANACEAE]

=Description=: A woody climbing or reclining herb with slender stems and dark green pointed leaves which may be purplish-green when young. Clusters of white or purplish-white flowers borne on a 5-pointed, wheel-shaped base (calyx). During summer and early fall, fruits become attractive berries, bright red to scarlet, and are scattered in clusters. They remain when leaves fall.

This weed is found in numerous areas, such as on dumps, along fence walls, and generally in moist, rich soil conditions. It is a common weed in many gardens, near dwellings or in fields, and is related to the black and deadly nightshades.

NOTE. The black nightshade, American bittersweet or poison berry (Solarium nigrum-SOLANACEAE) closely resembles the European bittersweet, excepting the berries which are purple or black. It contains the same poisonous principles.

=Poisonous Parts=: Chiefly the leaves and unripe fruits. The red berries (black berries of the black nightshade) can be poisonous if several are eaten. The plant contains =solanine=, =dulcamarin=, and similar principles which are related to the alkaloids of the deadly nightshade. Poisoning is characterized by burning in the throat, nausea, dizziness, dilation of eye pupils, convulsions, and general muscular weakness.

=Antidote=: Call your doctor. Have patient vomit. Physicians treat for alkaloids, as in atropine poisoning.

BLOODROOT

Sanguinaria canadensis--PAPAVERACEAE]

=Description=: Perennial, low-growing herbs which appear early in spring in shady, moist wooded areas. The many-petaled, white flower frequently develops first on a stalk wrapped with a single large-lobed leaf. The large underground stem (rhizome) and smaller roots of the bloodroot contain an orange to red juice from which the plant gets its name. This is poisonous.

=Poisonous Parts=: The underground stems, roots, and their red contents. These contain several toxic alkaloids, chiefly =sanguinarine=, which irritate the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat, and stomach causing intense burning, nausea, and vomiting. If absorbed, the alkaloids can affect the nervous system, depress the heart, cause coma, and produce temporary paralysis.

=Antidote=: Call your doctor. Have patient vomit, and then give warm milk. Physicians perform gastric lavage and treat irritated gastro-intestinal tract. In the event that much of the root material has been ingested and absorbed, measures should be taken to prevent circulatory collapse.

CASTOR BEAN

Ricinus communis--EUPHORBIACEAE]

=Description=: There are many varieties of the castor bean plant growing in gardens and greenhouses. The plant is cultivated commercially in southern climates for the castor oil produced by the seeds. It grows to 8 feet or more in height with large showy palm like, dark green leaves on long stalks.

Flowers are not very attractive but the clusters of soft spiny fruits which form in late summer and early fall, split open to yield very attractively marked shiny seeds. These possess variegated white to brown and black striations and are shaped somewhat like the tick insect. Because of the attractive appearance, they become playthings for children.

=Poisonous Parts=: The beans or seeds contain the toxic substances =ricin= and =ricinine=. =Ricin= is exceedingly poisonous due to its irritant action which causes nausea, vomiting, intestinal cramps, stupor, and sometimes convulsions and circulatory collapse several hours after seeds are ingested. =Ricin= may produce hemolysis.

=Antidote=: Call your doctor. Have patient vomit. Physicians perform gastric lavage and maintain fluid and electrolyte balance and employ symptomatic measures.

CHRISTMAS ROSE

Helleborus niger--RANUNCULACEAE]

=Description=: In warmer climates, the large blossoms of this plant appear in midwinter, hence, the common name Christmas rose. However, these develop much earlier in fall or later in spring in New England and other northern areas.

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