SNOW-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN (EUPHORBIA MARGINATA)

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Snow-on-the-mountain is a common garden ornamental. It is also often seen about old house sites and overgrown gardens, thriving without cultivation.

Ingestion of its leaves causes intense burning of the mouth, throat, and stomach, uncontrollable salivation, and sometimes, more serious symptoms. Some people find casual handling causes skin irritation as well. It’s not a bad idea to wear gloves when tending these plants in the garden.

POISON LOCATION

All parts of the plant that contain sap, though the sap itself is most toxic. Even dried plant materials retain their poisonous properties.

POISON TYPE

Volatile oils, resins, alkaloids, and glycosides: quite a cocktail of bad stuff.

TYPICAL POISONING SCENARIO

Children and others sometimes mistake the seedpods, which resemble capers, for the edible fruit of other plants. Children have been fatally poisoned by sun spurge seeds, for example. Another possibility is medical abuse; there is a case on record in which a woman used snow-on-the-mountain as an abortive, with fatal results. Luckily, in most species, the sap tastes so bitter that few victims persist in eating these plants long enough to be seriously affected.

SYMPTOMS

All spurges cause vomiting, nausea, and/or diarrhea if they are eaten. If that’s not enough to keep you away, consider that handling some species, such as crown of thorns and poinsettia, can cause skin rashes, blistering, and eye irritation (remember your mother telling you, “Don’t rub your eyes with those dirty fingers”?). High doses result in intense burning of the mouth, throat, and stomach; uncontrollable salivation; convulsions; and sometimes, coma and death. So, grow the pretty plants in your house or garden, but wear gloves to prune them and discourage the cat from trying a bit of salad, please.

SNOW-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN POISON INFORMATION

Resins and Volatile Oils

Resins and volatile oils are derived mostly from hydrocarbons—chemicals composed of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. This group of poisons is very diverse.

SEE ALSO

Sun Spurge

Crown-of-thorns

Poinsettia

Castor Bean

Croton

POISON PLANT LOOKUP

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Choose Common Plant --------------------------------- AlderAloeAutumn CrocusBaneberryBleeding HeartBloodrootBracken FernBuckwheatButtercupCaladiumCastor BeanCherry, Chokecherry, PlumCloverCommon St. John's-wortConocybeCrotonCrown-of-thornsDaffodilDaphneDeadly GalerinaDestroying AngelDumbcaneElderberryEnglish HollyFalse HelleboreFlaxFly AgaricFoxgloveGolden ChainHorse-chestnutJack-in-the-pulpit; Indian TurnipJimsonweedLaceleafLarkspur and MonkshoodLiberty CapLily of the valleyLocustLupin or LupineMarsh-marigoldNightshade, BittersweetPanaeolusPhilodendronPlantainPoinsettiaPoison HemlockPoison IvyPoppyRagweedRed TideRhododendron, Rhodora, AzaleaRhubarbScillaScotch BroomSkunk-cabbageSnow-on-the-mountainStar of BethlehemSun SpurgeTansy RagwortTulipVirgin's-bowerWater-hemlock; CowbaneWinterberry, Canada HollyWormwoodYew

Choose Botanical Plant --------------------------------- Actaea speciesAesculus hippocastanumAlnus speciesAloe barbadensisAmanita muscariaAmanita virosaAmbrosia speciesAnthurium speciesArisaema triphyllumArtemisia speciesCaladiumCaltha palustrisCicuta maculataClematis speciesCodiaeum variegatumColchicum autumnaleConium maculatumConocybeConvallaria speciesCytisus scopariusDaphne mezereumDatura stramoniumDelphinium and AconitumDicentra formosaDieffenbachia speciesDigitalis purpureaEndymion speciesEuphorbia helioscopiaEuphorbia marginataFagopyrum esculentumGalerina AutumnalisHypericum perforatumIlex aquifoliumIlex verticillataKoeberlinia species; Euphorbia speciesLaburnum speciesLinum speciesLupinus speciesNarcissus speciesOrnithogalumPanaeolus speciesPapaver speciesPhilodendron speciesPlantago speciesPoinsettiaPrunus speciesPsilocybe pelliculosa, P. semilanceolataPteridium aquilinumRanunculus speciesRed TideRheum rhabarbarumRhododendron speciesRicinus communisRobinia speciesSambucus speciesSanguinaria canadensisSenecio jacobaeaSolanum dulcamaraSymplocarpus foetidusTaxus speciesToxicodendron radicansTrifolium speciesTulipaVeratrum species

Choose Poison Type --------------------------------- AlcoholAlkaloidsCarcinogens and co-carcinogensGlycosidesHay Fever allergensOxalatesPhenolsPhototoxinsProteins and Amino AcidsResins and Volatile OilsShellfish Poisons

Common Lookups

Poison Ivy

Red Tide

Buttercups

Ragweed

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