Don't eat the holiday plants

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Don't eat the holiday plants

By CATHY WALWORTHStar-Tribune staff writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mother said, "Never go empty handed." So we take a small gift to our friends' homes when we go. Often, the small gift is a plant.There are many blooming plants available now. But so many of them are not-so-great gifts. Not if the family has pets or small children. While we know that poinsettias are not poisonous, they can cause upset stomachs in cats. And cats are notoriously nosy when it comes to nibbling on plants. Poinsettias do exude a milky sap that can also cause skin irritation. So it's a good idea to wash the sap off right away if it gets on your hands. Holly wreaths were sent to newlyweds in ancient Rome to express congratulations and good will. Like other people around the world, the Romans believe that the holly warded off evil spirits.

In England, holly protected against witches, dogs and wild beasts. Soon every house, church, street corner and market was decorated with holly. Just don't eat it.Holly causes stomach upset in people and can be fatal to dogs and cats. If small children eat a lot of holly berries they can become sick with vomiting, diarrhea and stupor. Kissing under the mistletoe comes from a Norse tale.Balder, the Norse sun god, had a caring mom. Frigga, Balder's mother, feared for her son's life. She extracted promises from every living thing not to kill Balder. She forgot mistletoe. The rival god Loki made a sharp arrow of mistletoe wood and shot Balder. As the myth goes, Balder's light (the sun) lessened, and Frigga's tears turned to mistletoe berries. So impressed were the other gods that they saved Balder. Frigga was so overjoyed that she kissed everyone who walked beneath the mistletoe. The moral of that story is no dining on mistletoe, just kissing beneath it.Mistletoe upsets stomachs and can cause heart collapse in pets. Mistletoe berries can give a person acute stomach and intestinal irritation with diarrhea and slow pulse. Some say that Indians used to chew mistletoe leaves to relieve toothaches. Recently, though, a drug was derived from mistletoe to lower blood pressure. Don't try this at home. It is said that hibiscus causes diarrhea if pets eat it. It's not listed in my copy of "Human Poisoning from Native and Cultivated Plants." (James W. Hardin, Jay M. Arena, M.D., Duke University Press, 1974,) still, it's hard to believe that a hibiscus is something a person would want to eat. Chewing on pine needles can make your pet sick. That would seem to be only half your troubles if that pet got so interested in the Christmas tree that she pulled the thing over into the middle of the living room. Maybe that's why some folks suspend their Christmas tree from the ceiling. You suppose?