GERMAN POISONIOUS PLANTS

OLEANDER (Nerium oleander). Dangerous period: Mostly April – October. Popular pot plant inside and outside, in public areas and parks. In all parts of the plant you can find Glycosides that can provoke arrhythmia. There are reports on deaths that happened after chewing 5-15 leaves. Very much glycosides can be found in the seeds of the yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana). Consumption of eight seeds of this kind can already cause death.

OLEANDER

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE (Atropa belladonna). Dangerous period: July – November. Mostly violet (seldom yellow) blooming bush that is growing berries of the size of blue-black colored cherries (unripe: green). All parts of the plants are poisoning; the fruits, and after all the seeds are the most poisonous. They contain night-shadow alkaloids (hyoscyamin, atropin, scopolamine). Symptoms: red, dry skin/mucous membrane, wide pupils; excitation; cramps up to paralyze in breathing. 3 to 4 berries can cause death with children.

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE

ANGEL’S TRUMPET (Datura/Brugmansia suaveolens). Dangerous period: July – October. Up to 19.5 ft. high bush or small tree with soft-haired branches and large, undivided leaves. Popular ornamental plant for garden, balcony/terraces because of its beautiful, large, trumpet-shaped blossoms. All parts contain night- shadow alkaloids. Symptoms are similar ones as with the Deadly Nightshade. 50% of cases of poisoning is refer to youths that mis-use the plant as a drug.

ANGEL’S TRUMPET

BLUE MONKSHOOD (Aconitum napellus). Dangerous period: July – October. Up to 5 ft. high plant with beautiful blue blossoms. Green fruits with black shining seeds. Mostly seen in forests, near creeks and wet inclinations, but is also planted in gardens. The plant is highly poisonous (Aconitin), there is a high risk already in smallest amounts, sometimes already on skin-contact. Symptoms reach from vomit/diarrhoea, colic, muscle paralyzing up to breath/circulatory collapse. Caution: Danger to life! Call for first aid/ambulance immediately!

BLUE MONKSHOOD

YEW (Taxus spec.). Dangerous period: August – October. The tree or bush with its evergreen needles is very popular as a hedge plant. The cherry stone sized red fruits cover the black-brown seeds like a cup. All parts of the plant besides the red seeds-frame are poisoning. They contain alkaloid-similar substances and prussic acid-like connections. After absorbing three to five needles or biting of only a few seeds, treatment will be needed. Small amounts of the poison lead to nausea, vomit, stomach-ache, dizziness, shaking and losing consciousness. Larger amounts can provoke fatal arrythmia.

YEW

LILY OF THE VALLEY (Convallaria majalis). Dangerous period: May – September. Mostly seen in mixed deciduous forests. Also popular in parks and gardens. Leaves, blossoms (white), berries (red-orange) cause stomach-ache, nausea, vomit and extended passing of water. Above all, the bright red berries stimulate children to eat them. High doses cause circulatory symptoms through its heart-effective glycosides

LILY OF THE VALLEY

GOLDREGEN (Laburnum anagyroides). Well-known ornamental plant. Mainly dangerous from May to July. All parts are poisonous. Brown (unripe: green), flat seed beans are being used by kids to play. When eaten, stomach cramps, nausea, pulse speeding up, low blood pressure. Call the first aid immediately!

GOLDREGEN

SEIDELBAST (Daphne mezereum). Main danger period: June – August. Up to 5 ft high bush in gardens and forests, most of all beech tree forests. White or soft pink blossoms show in the early spring, even before the first leaves come out. The bush wears scarlet, yellow-orange or blue-black, berry-size fruits. All parts of the plant are poisoning, first of all the bark and the fruit seeds. After swallowing parts of the plant there will be irritations of the mucous membrane, burning feeling in mouth and neck, stomach-bowel problems up to bloody diarrhea. With children you can also recognize neurological symptoms up to anesthesia-like conditions. Three berries can already be fatal for children

SEIDELBAST

GARDEN BEAN (Phaseolus spec.). Dangerous times: July – October. The garden bean is a one-year plant, which can get up to 9.8 ft. high when climbing on stakes. Bush beans are much shorter and grow shrub-like. When cooked, beans are a delicacy, but raw beans cause nausea, stomach problems, diarrhea and continuing vomit. Children are concerned most of these symptoms. Even cases of death were reported. The cause of this are poisoning Lektine in raw seeds and husks, that lead to bloody inflammations of the stomach intestinal mucosa about two to three hours after consumption. By cooking the beans, the poison materials get innocuous.

Garden Bean

BAERENKLAU (Heracleum spec.). Dangerous times: May – August. The local Meadow-Baerenklau is far spreaded. The meadow plant can grow 3-6 ft. high. The Enormous-Baerenklau, originating from the Caucasus, also called “Herkulesstaude” at first was only cultivated in parks; meanwhile it spreads in many places also in nature. It can grow up to 16 ft. All kinds of Baerenklau contain high concentrations of Furanocumarines. Touching of these plants in connection with UV-beams can cause inflammation of skin. Typical are also reddening of skin and blisters. Especially skin contact with the juice of the plant’s stalk can cause terrible irritations to the skin

Cow Parsnip (BAERENKLAU )