Native Plants
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Monday - September 04, 2006
From: Oak Grove, LA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Poisonous Plants
Title: Toxicity of Peruvian Lilies (Alstroemeria sp) for food decoration
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hi, I am trying to find out if I can decorate a cake using live alstroemeria laid on top of the icing. I would not want to eat the flower, just lay it on top to look pretty before removing and serving the cake. Thanks for your help!ANSWER:
Perhaps it wouldn't be the best idea to put Peruvian Lilies (Alstroemeria sp.), beautiful as they are, on your cake. University of California Davis lists them on their Toxic Plants list in Toxicity Class 2 ("Minor Toxicity: Ingestion of these plants may cause minor illnesses such as vomiting and diarrhea.") and Class 4("Dermatitis: The juice, sap, or thorns of these plants may cause a skin rash or irritation."). The Peruvian Lily is also listed by the Washington Poison Center with the same toxicity ratings.More Poisonous Plants Questions
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Local native plant for grave marker in Washington
December 30, 2005 - Dear wildflower expert,
Our friend’s dog died, and is buried in western Washington, near the town of Monroe.
My wife is from central Texas, and thought a Texas perennial would be a nice marker.
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Sturdiness of non- native poisonous oleanders
August 16, 2011 - We've seen a dozen different types of non-native plants in our yard perish in last winter's brutal freezes and this summer's record drought..which is good..except for the Oleanders, which nature ca...
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Does non-native Crown of Thorns cause cancer?
August 24, 2013 - Does the plant, Corona De Cristo (Crown of thorns) cause cancer?
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