Wednesday, May 5, 2010

It always seem like someone

is watching me. :)

At one of the local garden shows I was introduced to a plant called Doll's Eye (Actaea pachypoda). Creeping looking thing and we all know how much I like creepy :)

And I come to find out deadly. Since I do not have kids or dogs, and I always wear gloves that I wash after each use. I usually do not worry too much about deathly toxic plants or plants that make you ill....but I generally try to avoid them.

I would have done this with this one too if I would have known how toxic it is, but I was too distracted by how interesting it was. Here is a bit more information on the toxic properties:

It's a good thing the creepy-looking berries of this plant aren't enticing*, because consuming the fruit of a doll's eye plant (or white baneberry) could kill you. The berries contain cardiogenic toxins that can have an immediate sedative effect on cardiac muscle tissue. Ingestion of the berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death.

Yeah, I am a bit concerned now too. :)

I have one in the front garden area of the house where my friends kids play when they are over (all of them over the age of 7).....I am going to move it to the back of the yard, where very few people visit and make sure I let my friends know about it, just to be safe.

If it is anything like the Datura (Angel Trumpet) and Monkshood plants that used to be in my won't last long. I have not been able to get either one to like the northwest climate.

Either way, I would never recommend putting a toxic plant in your garden...because you just never know. For a quick run through some of the most toxic plants check out this site.

* I beg to differ on that point of the description...I think the fact that they are white berries that look like eyes is going to make the extra intersting to toddlers...although this is coming from a lady with no children, so I could be mistaken.


  1. Jeez-that is freaky hard to look at! Maybe a chicken wire cage over top of it??? I know as a kid, I used to pick everything and eat it including holly berries--amazing I didn't get real sick. For the most part, things that are poisonous taste horrid, so you spit them out, which supposedly is why man developed his taste buds to discern poisonous from nonpoisonous (which still does not explain why my son spits out his broccoli casserole). :-)

  2. A most unusual plant. Definitely not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill unusual either!

    And I can see why it would be so tempting to kids...those white 'eyeballs' just screaming, "EAT ME!"

    Thanx for sharing!

  3. VERY CREEPY!!! Cool looking but...I don't think I would put it in my garden...I would be afraid my dogs or Cats would mess with it if the eyes (Berrys) drop!
    Thanks for all the cool info!
    Bugs & hisses

  4. At first I thought it was a prop! Creepy looking plant. And it would most definitely be a child-magnet <:/

  5. Creepy and glad I haven't seen these.(kids)

  6. That is so amazing! Never seen one! What an interesting post!!!!