The Poinsettia

As I was pulling off the dead leaves of our many Poinsettia plants at work I was plagued by the idea, I have believed for a number of years, that if I happened to eat a leaf of a poinsettia plant I could possibly die--- someone, somewhere told me they were highly poisonous. The truth be told, I read today, that a 50 lbs. child would have to eat 500 leaves in a short amount of time for it to even reach a potentially toxic level. Really?!~ I would seem to think that eating 500 leaves of any plant in a short amount of time may be potentially toxic.

The mayo clinic says that if a child eats a poinsettia leaf to have them rinse their mouth with some water. In rare cases they may develop a stomach ache. Not the stomach pumping I have always somehow imagined.