I would not advise using the Alice In Wonderland method either. Even if it doesn’t kill you, imagine getting a little poison ivy in your mouth. Seriously, we smack toddlers for less.
And also-- because I’m really shocked that this was proposed and being defended-- just because a leaf taste bitter doesn’t mean it’s a weed. Just because it’s sweet doesn’t mean it’s wanted. The only thing that makes a plant a weed is that it is growing where you don’t want it to. That’s it.
So tasting a leaf is not only dangerous on a toddler level, it’s also useless.
Holy crap, my mother-in-law dug out a patch of poison ivy with her bare hands a few years back. You thought the leaves were toxic - the roots are apparently much worse. (Couldn’t use her hands for two weeks.) According to this site, burning poison ivy produces a toxic smoke that will burn your throat and lungs.
So, no - I wouldn’t advise finding out if it tastes bitter or not.
Sweetie did the same thing a couple years ago, not realizing what it was. And judging by the ensuing patches of rash, before he washed his hands, he rubbed his eyes, wiped his forehead - and had a whiz. :eek:
Fortunately, he didn’t try eating the stuff.
That’s total twaddle, and you should be ashamed, since nobody’s hellbent on defending the method, just on pointing out your sloppy condescending initial post was ill-informed. If it’s your claim that a “teeny weeny” nibble of any of these plants can make you “very, very sick,” it’s up to you to provide support for that claim, not up to me to prove that for every plant on the planet this is untrue. It’s also ridiculous and obnoxious to post the Latin names instead of the common names, as if you didn’t just look those up on Wikipedia in an effort to make yourself sound more informed on the subject of toxic plants than you really are.
Also, for those similarly annoyed by lissener’s attempt at obscurantist prolixity, here are the common names for the plants he mentioned, so you won’t have to look them up like he did:
-Wolfsbane/monks hood
-Datura (as he said)
-foxglove
-oleander
-castor oil plant
-poison ivy
While there are urban legends about poisonings from miniscule quantities of oleander, it’s pretty likely that multiple adult leaves would be necessary to kill an adult; a tiny nibble of a tiny one in a garden, especially if spat out, would almost certainly cause no serious effects. Ricin actually has nontoxic leaves, so its inclusion in the list is another sign of Googlitis. And poison ivy has already been addressed.
I actually prefer people to use the Latin names for plants - not everyone uses the same common names for plants in different areas but the Latin names are usually the same everywhere.
Actually, from my experience working as perennials manager for a large nursery, and the freelance garden design work I’ve done on and off for more than 20 years, I only had to look up one of them to be sure my memory was right. (I have one of those memories for trivia; I still remember almost all the latin names of almost all the fish available in the aquarium trade from the 8+ years I worked in it.) And “googleitis” would’ve had the opposite effect: if I’d googled, as you apparently did, I might’ve known that Ricinus leaves are not as toxic as the seeds. I know the seeds to be especially deadly, and I’ve never bothered to research how the foliage compared. Consider me educated on that point. I’m still not gonna put em in a salad though.
The reason for using the botanical name is that most of those genres have more than one species that might be known to a gardener, and, more to the point, some of them include *both *weeds and garden plants. So using the botanicals was the best way to make that point. (What’s a Moonflower? One species by that name might make you a little nauseated; one is responsible for a number of deaths. The genus of the deadly one includes other species that go by other names, but knowing that they’re all Datura gives you a clue that they might be poisonous too. The name “Datura” carries that information; the name “Moonflower” does not.
And it seems to me that, the mere fact the chances might be slim, or that you might be able to nibble enough to just get a LITTLE sick, it’s still OUTRAGEOUSLY irresponsible to suggest that such a method would be safe to anyone, let ALONE someone as clearly inexperienced as the OP. Added to which, it’s entirely useless as a diagnostic!
And again, my point was, do you, yourself, REALLY want to nibble a leaf of ANY of those genera? Even more to the point, do you really want to recommend to an inexperienced gardener to go ahead and do so?
My apologies for my assumption here; it was based on the absurd inclusion of castor oil plant on the list. (And while I Googled to make sure, I looked up my facts in the charming Wicked Plants book that my wife gave me for Christmas, knowing about my wildcrafting hobby).
No, it’s not OUTRAGEOUSLY irresponsible; other than the aforementioned poison ivy, the chances are very slim for any illness (other than local burning or numbness, possibly, from the wolfsbane. And neither poison ivy nor wolfsbane has ever turned up a weed in my garden.
I agree that it’s useless. What I reacted to was the exaggerated claims about plant toxicity. The most poisonous plants out there require that you swallow multiple leaves (or chew and swallow multiple beans) for lethal effects. That’s a far cry from biting a tiny bit of one leaf and spitting it out.
Eating wild plants that you can’t identify is a terrible idea, absolutely. But if you know your poison ivy family, and you’re not on a tropical island, you’re almost certainly not going to hurt yourself by using this method on an unidentified plant. (Again, if you’re not using it in conjunction with other identification techniques, you’re not likely to do much good, either).
(For what it’s worth, Dorkness, all the nurseries I’ve worked in, most that I have shopped in, and most of the catalogs I have ordered from, alphabetize their plants by the botanicals, so they will always be more familiar to me. Almost every plant I’m familiar with I knew by its botanical before I ever heard any of its colloquial names. Which some hort professionals refer to as regional names, because as Cat Whisperer pointed out, they tend to vary. The alternative–choosing which regional name you’ll label a plant with, and then grouping some Oenotheras with Primulas because their most widely used colloquial name is Evening Primrose, when they’re not even in the Primrose family–as you can see, confusion mounts.)
We’re going to have to ATD; I maintain that it is, in fact, outrageously irresponsible.
Update: The mystery plant has orange flower-thingies that open in daytime and close up at night. Does it look like pumpkin? If so, I should probably take it out of the pot and plant it in the ground somewhere.
Definitely a squash, most likely pumpkin. It will need more room and decent soil (pumpkins are heavy feeders).
I thought from the seedling pic that you might have a hollyhock there, but the flower proves it’s a squash. I’ve never grown zucchini, so I can’t say if the plant is one, but I have grown pumpkins and your “weed” looks just like a young pumpkin plant. When and if you fertilize, don’t go too heavy on the nitrogen. Get a balanced fertilizer, if any (10-10-10 or 20-20-20 for example).
It will need to spread out as well–horizontally. Roast the seeds in the fall–Yum!
And please don’t taste your way to plant classification. That’s a good way to end up sick as hell or dead. :eek:
Also, a weed can be almost any plant. I never used to think that daisies were weeds, until they took over one of my garden beds. Ditto lemon balm and lysmachia (which I pulled out–not sure if I spelled that correctly). Weeds do tend to be aggressive, thrive in poor conditions and are usually heartier than more pleasing plants. That is one reason to plant what grows native to your area–it helps level the playing field, horticulturally speaking. 
It definitely looks like some member of the squash or melon family. A lot of gardeners call these “volunteers” rather than weeds. I wouldn’t venture a guess on what it actually is until the fruit sets, but it may be worth keeping around to see what comes up, so to speak.
Yup. Some kinda squash-type plant I think, too. Let us know. I’m betting on cucumber.
The double-you word is not in my vocabulary. It’s just that some plants have better manners than others.
I grow catnip in my herb garden and it’s related to mint. That stuff will be all over if you let it.
For those who don’t know, you can plant your mint in a large clay pot and if you prefer the look of having it in the ground, just sink the pot and then bring it back up in the fall.
One summer I planted a natural prairie garden. Loved it and kept it for about five years. But the darned thing was just like a two-year-old. Had to constantly keep an eye on it or it would go somewhere you didn’t want it to be. Finally I let it go for more domesticated plants.
Speaking of poisonous plants, I got back from the nursery pretty irked with our legislature. While all goes to hell in a handbasket and they sit up there deadlocked they did have time to outlaw the sale of castor beans. I’ve grown a row of them many times to hide the alley from view. And when I’m so inclined I can go stand by them and pretend I’m in the tropics.
But now I have been duly protected from any sudden urges to save the beans for Thanksgiving dinner. I suppose as the majority of us get more removed from an understanding of the natural we will eventually have to include rhubarb, geraniums and other useful plants in those-which-are-forbidden to save the lives of the herbally-challenged. Snorted with indignation all the way home.
This is what Kudzu looks like. I’m dealing with Japanese Knotweed and Bindweed.
http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=81&fr=1&sts=sss
They outlawed castor beans? But they’re such useful Darwinizing plants for people who want to eat things growing in someone else’s yard!
Looks exactly like a zucchini to me.
I enjoy volunteer plants, actually. It’s always interesting to see what’s drifted with the wind, or been scattered. Some are more welcome than others, of course.
My Mom lives on a marsh that has a lot of bird populations. She has many flowers that were dropped off and was telling me some are quite beautiful.
Cat Whisperer: That’s right, keep eating…Little do you know you’re drawing ever closer to the poison bean! (cackles evily) There is a poison one, isn’t there Smithers?
Smithers: Err…no, sir. I discussed this with our lawyers and they consider it murder.
Cat Whisperer: Damn their oily hides!