 All parts of this plant are highly toxic and should not be ingested in any quantity.The use of herbal preparations made from "D. staphisagria" seeds for destroying body-lice has been recognized since antiquity.The Greek physician Dioscorides and the Roman historian Pliny are most often mentioned in this context, and in assessing this classical literature, Barton and Castle expressed the opinion that Dioscorides's description of "staphis agria" was consistent in most respects with the plant they knew as "Delphinium staphisagria".