These common and everyday plants are toxic
And everyone should really know (and also not panic) about them
Inspiration to cultivate a life of intention and empowerment, every week.
Hi! This is Leyla from A Day Well Spent, a newsletter about purposeful living.
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First, a quick update on my recovery
From the acute contact dermatitis reaction I had to grapevines. Because you lovely concerned people have been asking me 🫶🏽
I’m now in the Post-Inflammatory Hypopigmentation (PIH) stage, which is a loss of skin colour that occurs after the skin experiences injury or inflammation.
Basically the inflammation affects melanocytes, the cells that produce melanin. During the reaction I had, these cells were damaged or disrupted, reducing melanin production and leaving lighter patches wherever I had the eczema – my cheeks, ears, forearms and hands.
The darker a person’s skin, the more obviously these patches can be seen. The lower half of my face and forehead were unaffected, so I now have a sort of bandana of lighter skin across the middle of my face, a bit like a bandit.
The good news is this is temporary; melanin should return. But it can take a while — weeks, months. It also confirms that inflammation has fully resolved.
But the most difficult aspect of all of this for me is it means I can’t have my face in the sun, at all. Because normal skin will tan, healing skin cannot, making the contrast more obvious.
This is somewhat of a challenge when you live in Portugal and the sky is cloudless most days, which is also part of the reason we moved here. 🫠
So stepping out these days, I’m wearing long sleeves, a hat, a Buff pulled up over my cheeks and fingerless SPF 50 gloves, like I’m about to rob someone at gunpoint on the set of a cowboy Western. I’m getting looks.
Or I go out only after sunset, like a real-life vampire.
I’m filming MasterChef in two weeks, and I’m looking forward to the make-up artist working some magic on my bandana look. Either way, the condition of my skin is almost fully back to normal (even if the pigmentation is not), which is wonderful.
I’m grateful the insane inflammation is over, because that really was quite unpleasant. And that this recovery time will stretch out over winter with its less hours of sunlight, as opposed to all of this having happened in the lead up to summer.
Guys, your favourite plants might be toxic
When I initially thought my acute reaction had been caused by fig tree sap and I was sharing this with friends, many responded with surprise — “fig sap can burn?”
Err, yes! Doesn’t everyone know this?!
I was surprised so many didn’t.
We are all well warned not to go around eating random mushrooms, but perhaps we are less aware of the potential dangers of our more everyday plants. Which can be surprisingly toxic if handled incorrectly.
So I thought I’d pull together a little guide to some of the most common ones. Here they are in order of problem potential, starting with the lowest rating.
Needless to say, this is by no means an exhaustive list of all potentially toxic plants — if you’re interested in learning more, invest in a good plant identifier and guide book.
1. Figs (Ficus carica)
So yeah, that milky white sap you see when you pick a fig or snap a leaf off a fig tree? That sap is potently phototoxic and can be caustic.
This means when that sap gets on your skin and you add sunlight (which is almost guaranteed when you think about where figs thrive), it can burn like acid. Google ‘fig sap burns’ if you dare. If you get the sap on you, wash it off pronto.
Paradoxically — and isn’t this why Nature is so great — that same sap has several medicinal benefits, when used in the right way. Including wound healing, the irony.
Toxic compounds: Furocoumarins (psoralens)
Effects: Sap is phototoxic, causing rashes, blisters or burns in sunlight.
Toxicity rating: 4/10
2. Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)
If they are pink, the soil is alkaline. If they’re blue, the soil is acidic. More fun than using litmus paper. But also, the flowers contain chemicals that release cyanide when broken down which can cause problems, especially in pets.
Toxic compounds: Cyanogenic glycosides
Effects: Ingestion can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and headaches. Sap may mildly irritate skin.
Toxicity rating: 5/10
3. Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)
I do enjoy when #wisteriahysteria hits my social feeds each May. And these stunning plants also fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, being part of the pea family. So they’re both spectacular and useful.
But the pods and the seeds within them are toxic, especially to children and pets.
Toxic compounds: Lectins, wisterin
Effects: Ingestion of seeds or pods can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Seeds are the most dangerous, petals are less toxic.
Toxicity rating: 6/10
4. Daffodil (Narcissus spp.)
Accidentally eat the bulbs and you will have problems.
Sounds unlikely but not that far fetched; they can look a lot like onions and sometimes supermarkets even have to put up signs to warn people.
Also, there is such a thing as ‘daffodil picker’s rash’ if the sap gets onto broken or sensitive skin. I speak from personal experience; after deadheading a load a few years back, my hand was covered in blisters for the best part of a week.
Toxic compounds: Lycorine (alkaloid)
Effects: Bulbs or leaves eaten raw can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Sap contact can cause skin rash.
Toxicity rating: 6/10
5. Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.)
I feel almost every National Trust garden has these. At their peak they are big and blousy and beautiful. But they contain toxins that can mess with the nervous system.
The most famous story comes from Turkey where a bear ate too much rhododendron honey aka ‘mad honey’ and ended up tripping balls in the back of a pick-up.
Toxic compounds: Grayanotoxins
Effects: Ingestion can lead to nausea, vomiting, dizziness, low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat or ‘mad honey’ poisoning.
Toxicity rating: 7/10
6. Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)
The most delicate pure white dangling bell flowers that look like pixie hats. Gorgeous scent too and a bouquet favourite, especially bridal ones.
But also, highly toxic. Even the water it sits in can cause trouble.
Toxic compounds: Convallatoxin (cardiac glycoside)
Effects: Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, irregular heartbeat. Potentially fatal if eaten.
Toxicity rating: 8/10
7. Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
I adore watching boozy bumblebees crawl their way into, then reverse gear out of the elegant bells. I was delighted to find one had self-seeded in my garden this spring.
And didn’t it photograph well alongside my book Pathways (one final sale 23 - 30 November 2025, btw)!
But those bells contain digitalis, a compound used in heart medicine. A little can be helpful, too much can stop a heart altogether.
Toxic compounds: Digoxin, digitoxin (cardiac glycosides)
Effects: Can slow or stop the heart if ingested; nausea, vomiting, dizziness.
Toxicity rating: 9/10
8. Oleander (Nerium oleander)
If you’ve ever driven through southern Europe in summer, you’ve seen oleander — clouds of pink and white flowers spilling all over the place. What beauty! Also, potentially deadly.
This plant was used as a poison in Mediterranean cultures and Roman soldiers once skewered meat on its branches and paid with their lives. Whoops.
Toxic compounds: Oleandrin, neriine, digitoxigenin (cardiac glycosides)
Effects: Ingestion can cause nausea, vomiting, irregular heartbeats, death; smoke from burning leaves can irritate lungs; contact can cause mild skin irritation.
Toxicity rating: 10/10
9. Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia)
Huge, drooping trumpet flowers with stunning scent that have always stopped me in my tracks.
Also, completely loaded with hallucinogenic alkaloids.
South American indigenous cultures used this plant to help communicate with spirits and ancestors. Rituals included guidance by experienced shamans to prevent toxicity, because the margin between visionary experience and dangerous poisoning is small.
I captured the below video in Lima, Peru — Angel’s Trumpet everywhere.
Toxic compounds: Tropane alkaloids (scopolamine, hyoscyamine, atropine)
Effects: Ingestion can cause hallucinations, paralysis, respiratory failure, death.
Toxicity rating: 10/10
Some notes on potential dangers in the hedgerows
Some of the most poisonous plants we have grow wild and you really should know which ones they are.
To reiterate, this is no where near an exhaustive list!
Invest in a good plant identifier book!
10. Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
Enormous, towering, prehistoric looking things with umbrella-like blooms. But sap on your skin + sunlight and you can get burns that last for years. Google image search if you’re feeling brave.
It was brought to Britain as an ornamental in the 1800s, promptly escaped into the wild and is now considered invasive. My old local park in SW London is covered in hogweed and rangers go around decapitating flower heads just before they set seed and spread, wearing protective gear like below.
A delicate balance to manage because the insects really do ruddy love ‘em.
Toxic compounds: Furanocoumarins
Effects: Sap is highly phototoxic — can cause burns, blisters, scarring and long-term sensitivity to sunlight.
Toxicity rating: 9/10
11. Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
A tall, delicate-looking plant with ferny leaves and white umbels — easy to mistake for wild parsley. Adored by insects.
Hemlock paralyses the nervous system, leading to respiratory failure. Socrates was famously sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. There are accounts from old Europe of children playing with hollow stems of hemlock as straws and… it didn’t end well for them.
A key identifier of hemlock are purple blotches on mature stems which you can see in the video below. It’s of a huge one that was growing very happily at the end of my road back in the UK.
I thought I’d mention it to the family with kids and dogs who live opposite it. A few days later the plant had been cut down, which was sad. There was no need for that.
Toxic compounds: Coniine, γ-coniceine
Effects: Extremely toxic if ingested — respiratory paralysis and death. Contact may cause mild irritation.
Toxicity rating: 10/10
12. Monkshood (Aconitum napellus)
Also known as wolfsbane and aconite; it can be a killer.
Purple, elegant, extremely toxic. Even brushing against it can make your skin tingle and if you swallow any part of it, your heart can stop. It’s been used in legends to fend off werewolves.
Toxic compounds: Aconitine (alkaloid)
Effects: Highly toxic if ingested; can cause numbness, paralysis, heart arrhythmia, death. Even handling with bare skin can cause mild tingling.
Toxicity rating: 10/10
Bonus entry: the curious case of ackee
Jamaica’s national fruit ackee (of ackee and saltfish fame) is a food where ripeness determines toxicity.
If it’s eaten before it’s fully ripe (which is when the pods open naturally on the tree), it can cause severe poisoning and even death.
Ackee should never be eaten if it hasn’t opened on its own.
This blew my mind a little when I learnt this in Jamaica, seeing as ackee is almost a daily staple there.
Like, unless you cooked it yourself, *how can you be 100% sure* the fruit in your meal had fully opened on the tree?!
What if someone accidentally picked an unopened one and it’s on your plate??
When I asked local people about this they told me there is the occasional tragic story.
For example, a woman who collected a load of fallen ackee fruit from under a tree, cooked the fruits, fed her whole family and several members very sadly died because some of the fruit were in fact still closed and she hadn’t realised.
It feels a bit like dicing with death to me!
Thoughts on fear
I don’t share all this with you to elicit fear of stepping into Nature; my intention is the opposite.
Plants aren’t passive or purely ornamental, existing for our pleasure alone. They are alive and responsive and have as much right to quietly defend themselves as any of us do.
Knowing about the power of these plants is awe-inspiring and humbling and for me, leads to an even bigger appreciation of their wisdom. Sure, they can do harm if they are not respected. But remember, plants have the potential to literally save lives too.
Also, it’s all about context and perception. There’s no need to be ‘afraid’ of any of this flora. You likely have toxic plants in your kitchen right now — and you’re not afraid of those.
Potatoes are pretty toxic 🤷🏽
When a potato is exposed to light, becomes green or starts sprouting, it starts to produce much more solanine which is a compound that can cause nausea and headaches if eaten in quantity.
Or, consume too much nutmeg and you can expect hallucinations and heart palpitations.
But potatoes and nutmeg are familiar ingredients we are comfortable around; we’re not suddenly going to start evicting these from our cupboards.
Which demonstrates that fear is often really just an expression of the unknown or of the unfamiliar.
So, the more we learn about and get comfortable being around Nature, the less we will be scared of it.
But if we hide from it and try to keep ourselves separated or ‘protected’ from it, that can only lead to more unnecessary anxiety.
The reactions I had to those grapevines – that I’m still recovering from – reminded me that plants are not out to get us. They’re just full of complex chemistry and getting on with living their best, captivating lives.
And that they don’t exist for us alone; they have their own agenda. Which makes me love them even more.
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As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
Did you know about the potential dangers — and undisputed awesomeness — of these everyday plants?
Also, I recognise all but one of them are specific to temperate zones. I would so love to hear of other common, everyday plants from the rest of the world that have the potential to be poisonous or toxic.
I find it an extremely interesting topic!