# Have You/Anyone You Know Been Poisoned by a Common Garden Plant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 15, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794 "2008-11-15T01:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794/21 "2008-11-16T05:23:51Z")
Tomatoes, nightshade, and datura are all in the same family: [Solanaceae](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanaceae) ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794/22 "2008-11-16T05:30:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Mistletoe, pyracantha and holly, along with the fairly well known poinsettia, are common household poisoning dangers, especially during the holiday season of course. Poinsettias are not [poisonous](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/poinsettia-plants/AN01481) to humans. Some plants in the euphorbia family can cause severe inflammation if you are exposed to the sap, and that may be why poinsettias have gotten the reputation. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794/23 "2008-11-16T06:21:01Z")
I got the runs from eating too many green tomatoes. That may be a unique reaction, or atypical, I am not sure. It is purely anecdotal, may not have a basis scientifically, although I do know that a certain percentage of people have a sensitivity or slight allergic reaction to the compounds in tomatoes (nightshade family). Probably why the love apple was first thought to be poisonous… also interesting to speculate that the ancient and original strains of tomatoes might have been more flavorful because of a higher level of these compounds. Maybe, why some people also have an aversion to the taste of fresh tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794/24 "2008-11-16T06:36:35Z")
Quoth **Kalhoun** : > [@](#): > > Tomato leaves are poisonous? HOW poisonous? I’ve never heard this. I don’t doubt you, but I’m curious…am I the Lone Ranger here? Is this common knowledge? Yeah, it’s a shame, too, since they smell so wonderful. Tomato leaves would make a lovely herb if they weren’t poisonous. Quoth **WhyNot** : > [@](#): > > but I also hate to see people go overboard and scream at their kid not to taste the wood sorrel or dandelions because “that might be poisonous!!!” \ Um, right, I’d better dispose of this, to make sure nobody gets poisoned. Yeah, that’s the ticket! And while I’m at it, I’ll just dispose of this bacon dressing, too. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794/25 "2008-11-16T06:43:12Z")
Does anyone have a confirming cite that tomato leaves are poisonous? I feel like I’ve seen them used in a dish on Iron Chef. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794/26 "2008-11-16T08:09:01Z")
**picunurse** ’s husband had a bad reaction to anemone – [thread about it here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=422376). [Tomato leaf toxicity](http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=40185). ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794/27 "2008-11-16T12:49:38Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > **picunurse** ’s husband had a bad reaction to anemone – [thread about it here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=422376). > > [Tomato leaf toxicity](http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=40185). Very interesting. Thank you! I grow those tobacco flowering “nightshades” each summer. I had no idea they were from the same family. The purple variety smells wonderful when the sun goes down. However, I never noticed a stronger scent from the tomato plants. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-anyone-you-know-been-poisoned-by-a-common-garden-plant/472794.md?page=1)