Beautiful But Dangerous: Deadly Poisonous Garden Plants

Lots of people grow these beautiful plants in their gardens because they have beautiful and colourful flowers.

Some have nice smelling flowers too, like Lily-of-the-Valley and Oleander.

My grandmother grew some of these beautiful plants in her garden too.

But do you know that they are very poisonous?

So please be careful of these poisonous plants because they can cause death.

Please click the photos to learn more about them.

Larkspur (Delphinium consolida). Part of the buttercup family of flowers. Deadly parts: The entire plant, though the young leaves and the mature seeds contain the highest concentration of toxic alkaloids. Toxic toll: These enticing blue growers are definitely just for looking—not eating. Immediately after ingestion, nausea, burning in the mouth, vomiting, and slowing of the heartbeat set in. Seek treatment right away, because six hours is all it takes for this flower to become lethal.Photo by Flickr user Alwyn Ladell

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). Deadly parts: The entire plant, especially the leaves of the upper stem, which are rich in digitalin, digitoxin, and digitonin—chemicals, that while used medicinally, are deadly in high doses.Toxic toll: The same thing that makes these lookers toxic to deer won’t sit well with your—or the family pet’s—digestive tract. Twenty minutes after a little nibbling, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea set in. Depending on the amount ingested, untreated poisoning leads to death by bradycardia (lowered heart rate) or ventricular fibrillation (a rapid, irregular rhythm in the lower heart chambers). Keep in mind, however, that children have died just from sucking on a part of the plant.Photo by Flickr user Kristian Thy

Poet’s Narcissus (Narcissus poeticus). Deadly parts: The entire plant, especially the bulbs, which are potent emetics, inducing vomiting.Toxic toll: If the scent of a narcissus bouquet in a closed room is strong enough to cause a headache, just imagine what eating an entire bulb might do. Think severe nausea, convulsions, fainting, paralysis and eventual death. Still want to plant them? Watch any open wounds you may have while tending to them—coming into contact with their bulb secretions has produced staggering, numbness, and heart paralysis.Photo by Flickr user AnneTanne

Purple Nightshade (Atropa belladonna). Deadly parts: The entire plant, particularly its berries, roots, and leaves.Toxic toll: Don’t mess with this one—pop a handful of berries in your mouth, and you’ll physically be unable to call for help. After you lose your voice, respiratory complications, intense digestive disruption, and violent convulsions begin, the combination of which has proven fatal.Photo by Flickr user peganum

Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). Deadly parts: The entire plant, especially the flower buds.Toxic toll: Swallowing hydrangea is like popping a cyanide pill. The present poison, hydragin, is a cyanogenic glycoside, meaning it will cause shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and a rapid pulse, along with a drop in blood pressure that can cause convulsions and death.Photo by Flickr user Mauricio Mercadante

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia). Deadly parts: Leaves, twigs, flowers, and pollen.Toxic toll: Mountain laurel parts are full of andromedotoxins, which go to town on your gastrointestinal tract. Watering of the mouth, eyes, and nose are common, as is shortness of breath and slow heartbeat. Kidney failure can occur, as well as convulsions, paralysis, coma, and death.Photo by Flickr user James Gaither

Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis). Deadly parts: The entire plant, particularly the leaves.Toxic toll: Sure, they make for an attractive flower arrangement, but even the water you place cut lily-of-the-valley flowers in contains deadly traces of convallatoxin, which intensifies the heart’s contractions. Just a bite causes headaches, hot flashes, hallucinations, and irritability, not to mention red blotches on cold, clammy skin. The heart will also slow down, potentially leading to coma and death.Photo by Flickr user Stadtkatze

Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum). Deadly parts: The entire plant. Toxic toll: Who knew both West Virginia and Washington’s state flower was a silent killer? Swallow any part of this plant, and you’re going to look as bad as you feel. While drooling from the mouth and teary-eyed, you’ll begin vomiting violently, just as your pulse slows down and low blood pressure sets in. Death can occur shortly after falling into a coma or during a violent seizure.Photo by Flickr user Ryan Somma

Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens). Deadly parts: All parts, especially the berries. Toxic toll: Munching on a couple of leaves, berries, or shoots—or drinking mistletoe-flavored tea—will cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. Cases where mistletoe ingestion were fatal involved gastroenteritis (an inflammation of the stomach and small intestine), followed by cardiovascular collapse. The berries are particularly potent when it comes to pets, so mind your cats and dogs around this plant.Photo by Andrew Dunn

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima). Deadly parts: The milky sap found in the veins of the plant.Toxic toll: Despite its toxic reputation, poinsettias will never top the list of most poisonous plants, as there’s only been two documented cases of them causing human death. But you’ll want to teach kids not to touch or consume the plant, nonetheless. And as far as cats and dogs are concerned, keep poinsettia plants out of reach—unless you want to clean up after pet vomit and diarrhea. Take extra precautions if you have elderly, ill, or young pets.Photo by Flickr user Mauricio Mercadante

Oleander (Nerium oleander). Deadly parts: The entire plant, including its nectar and sap. Toxic toll: Think twice about growing one of these babies in your yard, especially if you have little ones: A single leaf contains enough toxins to be lethal to an infant or small child. Like other poisonous plans, ingesting it first affects the digestive system with vomiting and diarrhea, then poisoning progresses into life-threatening circulatory problems. If your heart’s still ticking after that trauma, oleander can also deal a fatal blow to your central nervous system, causing seizures, tremors, and coma that can lead to death.Photo by Flickr user Hovic

Water Hemlock/Spotted Parsley (Cicuta maculata). Deadly parts: The whole plant, especially the roots of early growth.Toxic toll: This wildflower has been dubbed “the most violently toxic plant that grows in North America” by the USDA. True to its killer reputation, water hemlock can strike you dead within 15 minutes of ingestion. The poison cicutoxin wastes no time in attacking the central nervous system, causing severe seizures and convulsions that turn deadly as a result of asphyxia and cardiovascular collapse.Photo by Flickr user Fritz Flohr Reynolds