Poisonous Plants in New Zealand - Preshool Centres
Plants which existing literature suggests should not be grown or tolerated in pre-school centres
Prepared by W R Sykes, Research Associate, Landcare Research, Lincoln, Canterbury
INTERNAL POISONS - (Harmful if swallowed)
- Angel's trumpet (Brugmansia candida) - North Island and warmest parts of South Island
- Arums and arum lily (Arum species and Zantedeschia aethiopica)
- Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) - mainly South Island and lower North Island
- Castor oil (Ricinus communis)
- Death cap and fly agaric fungi (Agaricus phalloides and A. muscaria)
- Fox glove (Digitalis purpurea)
- Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
- Jerusalem cherry (Solanum diflorum and S. pseudocapsicum
- Laburnum (Laburnum anagryoides) - mainly South Island and southern half of the North Island
- Lantana (Lantana camara) - warmer parts of North Island and northern areas of South Island
- Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) - mainly South Island
- Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) - mainly South Island and colder parts of North Island
- Oleander (Nerium oleander)
- Persian lilac or white cedar (Melia azederach) - mainly North Island
- Potato (Solanum tuberosum) - all green parts
- Privet species (Ligustrum species)
- Queen of the night (Cestrum nocturnum) - mainly northern North Island
- Spindle tree and Japanese spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus and E. japonicus) - latter mainly fruiting in the North Island
- Stinking iris (Iris foetidissima)
- Tutu (Coriaria species) - nearly always C. arborea
- Yew (Taxus baccata) - although nearly all parts of both sexes are poisonous, only the berry of the female tree, with its poisonous seed, is likely to be eaten.
EXTERNAL POISONS - (Harmful if touched)
- Stinging nettles (Urtica species)
- Wax tree or Japanese wax tree (Rhus succedanea) - mainly North Island and northern South Island
Notes
Certain very poisonous plants are excluded from the above list because of their rarity in New Zealand, e.g. deadly nightshade* (Atropa bella-donna), bushman's poison (Acokanthera oppositifolia), henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), and poison ivy (Rhus radicans). Also excluded are poisonous plants which, although common, have no parts likely to attract young children; e.g. hellebores (Helleborus species), box (Buxus sempervirens), and thornapple or datura (Datura stramonium), the last having very poisonous seeds enclosed in spiny capsules.
Many plants have spiny or prickly vegetative parts but these are not considered to be reason enough to exclude such plants from pre-school education centres. Most of these plants are either not poisonous or not very poisonous; e.g. roses (Rosa species and hybrids), firethorns, (Pyracantha species), hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa), and holly (Ilex aquifolium).
* True deadly nightshade is extremely rare in New Zealand. Unfortunately, this name is mistakenly applied to black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), the latter having somewhat poisonous green parts and harmless berries. The two are easily distinguished: deadly nightshade is a large plant over a metre high when mature, and has large, bell-shaped, brownish-purple flowers followed by large, egg-shaped black berries. Black nightshade is a much smaller plant (about half the height of deadly nightshade when mature), and has small white star-shaped flowers followed by little black berries, similar to black currants.
Warning: If a child is displaying serious symptoms of poisoning, treat as an emergency and dial 111 for an ambulance.
Otherwise, if you suspect a child has ingested parts of a poisonous plant
immediately contact the National Poisons and Hazardous Chemical Information
Centre Urgent Phoneline on 0800 POISON / 0800 764 766, 24 hours
a day seven days a week.
(For nonurgent information, Ph. 03-479 1200 between 9am and 5pm week days
only).
© Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd 2002. This information may be copied and distributed, provided Landcare Research is acknowledged. Under no circumstances may a charge be made for this information without the permission of Landcare Research.
For more information contact: The Plant Herbarium, Landcare
Research, P O Box 40, Lincoln 8152, Tel 03-325 6700, Fax 03-325 2127,
Email
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This information is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide medical advice to you. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, no responsibility is accepted for any actions taken in reliance on it. Specific advice on medical issues should be sought from a health professional.