Unnamed poisonous plant

[Jenn]

Comment: Dear all;

Please read below. The message is true. I almost lost my daughter who
put a piece of the leaf of this plant in her mouth and her tongue swelled
to the point of suffocation. This is one plant but there are others with the
same characteristics of coloring. Those are also poisonous and we should
get rid of them. Please watch out for our children. As we all leave our
children home in the hands of the helpers, we should give them a safe
environment where they can play.

"This plant that we have in our homes and offices is extremely dangerous!

This plant is common in Rwanda, in many offices and in homes. It is a
deadly poison, mainly for the children. It can kill a kid in less than a
minute and an adult in 15 minutes. It should be uprooted from gardens
and taken out of offices. If touched, one should never touch ones eyes; it
can cause partial or permanent blindness. Please alert your buddies.

[tribrats]

The plant is a Dumb Cane.

They are highly toxic.

ETA: Yes, they make the mouth go numb as other pages state. While working with the one I had a few years back, I got some of the sap on my hand and wiped my face. My lips did indeed tingle then go numb even though I flushed them as soon as I realized what I did.

[Chloe]

Oh, it's the same as a leopard lily.

[tribrats]

Very dangerous family of plants. After my incident, I got rid of all mine. Never had a cat chew my plants but wasn't taking a chance even though they were placed where, and in, places the cats didn't bother.

I didn't have to worry about the kids going after plants. They didn't like the cactus I had in with everything.

[Astra]

Originally Posted by tribrats

The plant is a Dumb Cane.

They are highly toxic.

I was about to post that the plant looked and sounded like a dieffenbachia when I saw your link and remembered that was the common name. The only place I had ever heard about it was in a first grade class on Floridian poisonous plants. For whatever reason, the contents of that little booklet stuck really well.

[Cervus]

It's a Diffenbachia. I've never heard of them being poisonous. I won't argue if they are, but they're such a common houseplant that it seems odd that I've never heard any warnings about them.

If touched, one should never touch ones eyes; it
can cause partial or permanent blindness.

Is the OP just talking about the sap from a broken stalk? Because I've potted and repotted these plants fairly often and have never had any adverse effects from touching it. Or could I be immune to the toxicity of this plant in the same way I seem to be immune to poison ivy?

[tribrats]

Originally Posted by Cervus

It's a Diffenbachia. I've never heard of them being poisonous. I won't argue if they are, but they're such a common houseplant that it seems odd that I've never heard any warnings about them.

Is the OP just talking about the sap from a broken stalk? Because I've potted and repotted these plants fairly often and have never had any adverse effects from touching it. Or could I be immune to the toxicity of this plant in the same way I seem to be immune to poison ivy?

It's possible you're immune I suppose. I can roll naked in poison ivy (Don't worry, I won't leave the house naked!) with nothing happening. On the other hand, I'm deathly allergic to Deadly Nightshade (which probably explains why I have trouble with tomatoes) and Poison Sumac.

I have plant books back to the 60's at the very least that say the sap is toxic. I also know from personal experience that the sap can make my lips tingle then go numb.

[Nick Theodorakis]

According to wiki (usual disclaimers) it's unpleasant but rarely fatal.

Nick

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by Cervus

It's a Diffenbachia. I've never heard of them being poisonous. I won't argue if they are, but they're such a common houseplant that it seems odd that I've never heard any warnings about them.

Is the OP just talking about the sap from a broken stalk? Because I've potted and repotted these plants fairly often and have never had any adverse effects from touching it. Or could I be immune to the toxicity of this plant in the same way I seem to be immune to poison ivy?

I think the leopard lily/dumb cane sap needs to touch mucus membranes. It has killed pet cats over here and every year there are one or two letters and warnings in the cat magazines about fatalities.

[Onyx_TKD]

Originally Posted by Cervus

It's a Diffenbachia. I've never heard of them being poisonous. I won't argue if they are, but they're such a common houseplant that it seems odd that I've never heard any warnings about them.

Is the OP just talking about the sap from a broken stalk? Because I've potted and repotted these plants fairly often and have never had any adverse effects from touching it. Or could I be immune to the toxicity of this plant in the same way I seem to be immune to poison ivy?

My family had a Dieffenbachia and we knew it was toxic. Solution: don't leave unsupervised small children and pets with the plant until you're confident they won't chew on it--we never had the slightest problem. We certainly never had any issues from handling an undamaged plant.

Personally, I think the OP's call for them to be removed from all gardens and offices is going way overboard. People do need to be aware that it is toxic, expecially when there are small children and pets involved, but I can't think of too many office situations (other than a vet's office or in a preschool) where people need to worry about people in the office chewing on their houseplants. Unless there are kids and pets involved, why would it be a problem to have, as long as the owner is aware of the toxicity?

[kitap]

Originally Posted by Onyx_TKD

Personally, I think the OP's call for them to be removed from all gardens and offices is going way overboard. People do need to be aware that it is toxic, expecially when there are small children and pets involved, but I can't think of too many office situations (other than a vet's office or in a preschool) where people need to worry about people in the office chewing on their houseplants. Unless there are kids and pets involved, why would it be a problem to have, as long as the owner is aware of the toxicity?

It seems to be this kind of "well, we use it for decorative purposes therefore it simply can't be toxic. Wait, it is!? Everyone, toss it away!" thinking I see every so often.

[Xia]

Originally Posted by Onyx_TKD

Personally, I think the OP's call for them to be removed from all gardens and offices is going way overboard. People do need to be aware that it is toxic, expecially when there are small children and pets involved, but I can't think of too many office situations (other than a vet's office or in a preschool) where people need to worry about people in the office chewing on their houseplants. Unless there are kids and pets involved, why would it be a problem to have, as long as the owner is aware of the toxicity?

My vet has lillies in her office, which are poisonous. They are not anywhere clients/pets would be though, they're in the back corner of a counter in the receptionist's area.