larger, more colorful, and incredibly fragrant. All parts are mildly poisonous, but the young shoots and seedpods contain poisonous amino acids called lathyrogens. Sweet pea is one of a number of pea and vetch plants in the genus
Lathyrus
that can cause lathyrism, which brings on paralysis, weakness, and tremors.
TULIP
Tulipa
spp.
Produces a highly irritating sap hazardous to horticultural workers. Touching the bulbs can irritate the skin, and workers in Holland’s bulb industry know that even the dry dust produced by the bulbs may bring on respiratory problems. A syndrome called tulip finger is an occupational hazard for florists who handle the plants all day. They can experience painful swelling, red rashes, and cracks in the skin.
Tulip bulbs have been mistaken for onions and eaten during times of famine in Holland—a bad idea since a dinner of tulip bulbs would bring on vomiting, breathing problems, and severe weakness.
HYACINTH
Hyacinthus orientalis
Also well known in the flower industry for causing “hyacinth itch” if the bulbs are handled with bare hands. Its sap can also irritate the skin.
ALSTROEMERIA OR PERUVIAN LILY
Alstroemeria
spp.
Brings on the same kind of dermatitis as tulips and hyacinths. Cross-sensitivity can develop among these different varieties of flowers, making for a potent combination of painful skin problems.
CHRYSANTHEMUM
Chrysanthemum
spp.
Blossoms have been used in teas and for medicinal purposes, but the plants can cause a severe allergic reaction. Some people may develop skin rashes, swollen eyes, and other symptoms. Certain species are used to produce pyrethrum, an organic insecticide.
Prison officials intercepted the bouquet and later discovered that there was enough arsenic tucked between the petals to kill several men.
ACONITE
Aconitum napellus
Aconite, or monkshood, is a popular garden flower that produces spires of blue or white blossoms similar to those of larkspur and delphinium. While they are beautiful in a bouquet, the poison contained in the plant is so deadly that it can paralyze the nerves and even kill. Florists should avoid handling the stems with their bare hands; even skin contact can bring on numbness and cardiac problems.
DANGEROUS
Peacock Flower
CAESALPINIA PULCHERRIMA
(
SYN
. POINCIANA UICHERRIMA)
The peacock flower plays a tragic role in the history of the slave trade. Tins beautiful tropical shrub, with its fine, lacy leaves and brilliant orange flowers that are irresistible to humming-birds, produces a seedpod whose poison was well known to women of the West Indies.
FAMILY:
Fabaceae
HABITAT:
Tropical and subtropical mountain slopes, lowland rain forest
NATIVE TO:
West Indies
COMMON NAMES:
Red bird of paradise, Barbados pride, ayoowiri, flos pavonis, tsjétti mandáru
Medical literature of the eighteenth century describes the attempts of slave women to end their pregnancies so that their children would not contribute to the wealth of a slave owner. This rebellion took many forms: some women sought medicine from the plantation doctor in the hopes that it would cause a miscarriage, but others relied on plants like the peacock flower. It was believed to help bring on menstruation, or “bring down the flowers,” as European doctors sometimes called it.
In 1705 botanical explorer Maria Sibylla Merian first described the ways in which West Indian slaves would use the plant as a form of resistance against their owners: “The Indians, who are not treated well by their Dutch masters, use theseeds [of this plant] to abort their children, so that their children will not become slaves like they are. The black slaves from Guinea and Angola have demanded to be well-treated, threatening to refuse to have children. In fact, they sometimes take their own lives because they are treated so badly, and because they believe they will be born again, free and living in their own land. They told me this themselves.”
“The Indians, who are not treated well by
Lathyrus
that can cause lathyrism, which brings on paralysis, weakness, and tremors.
TULIP
Tulipa
spp.
Produces a highly irritating sap hazardous to horticultural workers. Touching the bulbs can irritate the skin, and workers in Holland’s bulb industry know that even the dry dust produced by the bulbs may bring on respiratory problems. A syndrome called tulip finger is an occupational hazard for florists who handle the plants all day. They can experience painful swelling, red rashes, and cracks in the skin.
Tulip bulbs have been mistaken for onions and eaten during times of famine in Holland—a bad idea since a dinner of tulip bulbs would bring on vomiting, breathing problems, and severe weakness.
HYACINTH
Hyacinthus orientalis
Also well known in the flower industry for causing “hyacinth itch” if the bulbs are handled with bare hands. Its sap can also irritate the skin.
ALSTROEMERIA OR PERUVIAN LILY
Alstroemeria
spp.
Brings on the same kind of dermatitis as tulips and hyacinths. Cross-sensitivity can develop among these different varieties of flowers, making for a potent combination of painful skin problems.
CHRYSANTHEMUM
Chrysanthemum
spp.
Blossoms have been used in teas and for medicinal purposes, but the plants can cause a severe allergic reaction. Some people may develop skin rashes, swollen eyes, and other symptoms. Certain species are used to produce pyrethrum, an organic insecticide.
Prison officials intercepted the bouquet and later discovered that there was enough arsenic tucked between the petals to kill several men.
ACONITE
Aconitum napellus
Aconite, or monkshood, is a popular garden flower that produces spires of blue or white blossoms similar to those of larkspur and delphinium. While they are beautiful in a bouquet, the poison contained in the plant is so deadly that it can paralyze the nerves and even kill. Florists should avoid handling the stems with their bare hands; even skin contact can bring on numbness and cardiac problems.
DANGEROUS
Peacock Flower
CAESALPINIA PULCHERRIMA
(
SYN
. POINCIANA UICHERRIMA)
The peacock flower plays a tragic role in the history of the slave trade. Tins beautiful tropical shrub, with its fine, lacy leaves and brilliant orange flowers that are irresistible to humming-birds, produces a seedpod whose poison was well known to women of the West Indies.
FAMILY:
Fabaceae
HABITAT:
Tropical and subtropical mountain slopes, lowland rain forest
NATIVE TO:
West Indies
COMMON NAMES:
Red bird of paradise, Barbados pride, ayoowiri, flos pavonis, tsjétti mandáru
Medical literature of the eighteenth century describes the attempts of slave women to end their pregnancies so that their children would not contribute to the wealth of a slave owner. This rebellion took many forms: some women sought medicine from the plantation doctor in the hopes that it would cause a miscarriage, but others relied on plants like the peacock flower. It was believed to help bring on menstruation, or “bring down the flowers,” as European doctors sometimes called it.
In 1705 botanical explorer Maria Sibylla Merian first described the ways in which West Indian slaves would use the plant as a form of resistance against their owners: “The Indians, who are not treated well by their Dutch masters, use theseeds [of this plant] to abort their children, so that their children will not become slaves like they are. The black slaves from Guinea and Angola have demanded to be well-treated, threatening to refuse to have children. In fact, they sometimes take their own lives because they are treated so badly, and because they believe they will be born again, free and living in their own land. They told me this themselves.”
“The Indians, who are not treated well by
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