Flowers are valued for their beauty, fragrance and they joy they give to those who receive them. Indeed, nothing conveys the whole spectrum of human emotions as well as flowers – the reason why almost everyone loves them.

However, these symbols of love, friendship and beauty can be deadly too. That’s because many flowers that you find outside – and sometimes inside your home – can be dangerous. It’s not uncommon to find poisonous flowers around you so it’s better if you know what you’re dealing with.

Although plants are not the main reason for poisonings reported throughout the world, they are responsible for many cases of unintentional poisonings, especially among children.

“Surveys of calls to Poison Information Centers in Germany and the United States show that ingestion of plants is responsible for a significant number of calls (10 percent of all inquiries), but that serious poisonings are rare. Plants were responsible for five percent of pediatric poisoning cases seen in Finnish hospitals and 28 percent of calls to a poison information center,” according to Michael Eddleston of the Center for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford in England, and Hans Persson of the Swedish Poisons Information Center in Stockholm, Sweden.

Poisonous plants and flowers are everywhere and they are often difficult to recognize. This can be bad for our kids who are the usual victims of plant poisoning.

To help readers in this matter, the third part of my series contains a small list of poisonous plants and flowers that you should be wary of. If you have any of these plants at home or in your garden, fence them off or get rid of them fast. Teach children not to eat plants or flowers. These simple measures could save your child’s life.

The name Parietaria judaica may not sound familiar to you but it’s time you know what it does. This plant causes asthma and skin allergies. The plant has pink or red hairy stems, green leaves and small white or pink flowers.

This weed is often found in the coastal areas of Australia, the United Kingdom and North America. It’s common on roadsides and in cracks of buildings. Because of its bad effects, the plant is called sticky weed or asthma weed.

As I mentioned in my previous article, children under age 5 are the usual victims of plant poisoning owing to their curious nature. At this age, it is hard to resist the allure of bright-colored and sweet-smelling flowers even if some of them are poisonous.

“Lots of plants are poisonous or capable of causing highly allergic reactions. Some will also pierce you with their sharp spines. Few actually do lasting harm but some should be treated with care and respect,” according to doctors at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Australia.

“Many plants have poisonous bulbs or roots but as these are usually safely underground, they are not likely to poison anyone. Others taste so awful that it is difficult to eat enough to cause a serious injury. Oleander, for example tastes so bitter and unpalatable that it is difficult to accidentally eat very many of the leaves. On the other hand there are plants that look appealing but contact can have bad results,” they added.

However, protecting our kids is easier said than done since it can be difficult to recognize a poisonous plant. Often there are no telltale signs or characteristics that distinguish a poisonous plant from one that isn’t. Therefore, we have to educate ourselves to save our children.