Toxic – A Lot Of Plants Are

Q: In a recent article you identified moon plant as datura. It worries me that you made no mention of its dangerous toxicity.

A: If I had to mention the toxicity of every plant I write about, I think I’d unnecessarily alarm people. Azalea, Carolina jessamine, boxwood, lily of the valley, euphorbia, daffodil, oleander, tomato, potato and rhubarb are all toxic at one level or another. My guess is that most folks won’t be tempted to chew on any of these, so I don’t mention that they can be poisonous in some situations.