On December16th, a tiny new member was added to my household – a 6 week old Yorkshire Terrier. Before he was 8 weeks old I realized there wasn't anything he could reach that didn't go in his mouth, including plants. Now this was the holiday season so many types of plant material are moved inside for decorations. I was on the computer several times to see if anything that was "attacked" in the house and in my herb garden by my little guy was toxic. What I found was rather startling – I had lots of poisonous plants as house plants, as decorations or in my landscape.

If the plant is poisonous to a pet, it is probably just as poisonous to children, even adults, but it is unlikely an adult will intentionally eat a decorative plant.

The first plant that comes to most people's mind is poinsettia but poinsettias are NOT poisonous. This is a rumor that has been circulating for about eight decades because of an unfounded story in 1919 that an Army officer's two year old child allegedly died after eating a poinsettia leaf. This was never proved to be medical or scientific fact and later determined to be hearsay. Exhaustive tests have been made on all parts of the poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) and Ohio State University of Entomology established that rats exhibited no adverse effects. This test was conducted 23 years ago and other sources have continued to reinforce the poinsettia's safety so the fear of having poinsettias in the house during the holiday is gradually decreasing.

That said, it is still best to teach children (and pets if possible) that they should not put any part of any plant in their mouth unless presented to them as food. I'm going to expand that statement to "Don't put anything in your mouth unless it is food." I can remember a very expensive quarter – because my daughter swallowed it.

Some of the toxic holiday plants are holly berries (Ilex species). The berries can induce vomiting, diarrhea and stupor. Eating just a few Mistletoe berries may result in much the same as holly berries, but eaten in quantity may cause labored breathing, lowered blood pressure and heart failure. Yew (taxus species) foliage, bark and twigs can be toxic. The seeds are poisonous. Juniper berries are used to flavor gin and as a diuretic but in large or frequent doses may cause digestive irritation or kidney failure. Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) leaves, roots and berries are potentially poisonous and may cause vomiting, diarrhea, chills and convulsions. Amaryllis (this is a popular bulb given as a gift at Christmas so you might have just potted the bulbs) bulbs and leaves are toxic.

Some very common toxic houseplants are English ivy foliage (Hedera helix), Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia), Oleander (Nerium oleander), and Philodendron, Schefflera, Snake plant (Sanseviera trifasciata), Aloe Vera, Peace Lily, all with a variety of problems from digestive to oral irritation and can be very serious. Philodendron is the most frequently ingested plant as reported by the American Association of Poison Control Centers

In the outside landscape, I was surprised to find most of my favorites were on the list: rhododendron, azalea, oak leaf hydrangea leaves and bark, privet, boxwood, tomato plant, Castor bean, lily-of-the-valley, Virginia creeper, Easter Lily, hyacinth, iris, daffodils, crocus, tulips (basically all the bulb type plants). The list seems endless. Does this mean you have to dig up all your plants? Of course not, but you need to be aware of the potential poisonous/toxic plants so you can watch your visitors or family members; pet, child or adult. Adults do like to pop berries in their mouths! A little prevention is better than being sorry when it becomes necessary to obtain medical care for your child or pet.

Poisonous doesn't always mean fatal if ingested, but there are many physical effects like nausea, gastrointestinal upset, vomiting, diarrhea, or breathing problems, rashes, burning in the mouth to name a few. How severe the toxin will be on an individual or a pet will depend on the weight, health, age of the subject, along with how much and what part of the plant material was eaten. When you realize a poisonous plant has been consumed, obtain a sample of the plant, estimate the quantity eaten, estimate the time eaten, duration of exposure and what symptoms have been noted. Contact a physician or veterinarian immediately.

Keep emergency telephone numbers handy. For human poisoning questions call the Illinois Poison Center at 1-800-942-5969. For pets call ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 1-888-426-4435 with a cost of $45 per case charged to your phone bill and at the owner's request they will contact your veterinarian. (Gee, I think I would call my veterinarian first!)

A more complete listing of poisonous plants can be found at the following website: www.library.uiuc.edu/vex/toxic/intro.htm or you can call the University of Illinois office at 333-7672 to request a listing be mailed to you.

Last summer the Coles County Master Gardeners visited the University of Illinois Poisonous Plant Garden, an educational garden maintained by the College of Veterinary Medicine. It is located on St. Mary's road just northwest of the Veterinary Medicine Building on South Lincoln Avenue in Urbana. Over ninety species of plants native to Illinois or commonly used as ornamentals that are potentially hazardous to animals and people are included in this garden marked by plot numbers that correspond to the brochure that is available upon entrance to the garden. Plants are labeled, and the thorough brochure of the plants explains their toxic chemicals, and symptoms of exposure or ingestion. This was a very interesting and enlightening experience to be able to identify the growing plant and be able to match it up with the information on the brochure. We had the added pleasure of a veterinarian to expand on the seriousness of poisonous plants and to make us aware that the word POISON, like in poison ivy, poison oak or poison hemlock, is not present to identify the inherent danger in many plants we are exposed to daily.