Vegetable matter that can cause severe allergic reactions if their leaves brush against a person's skin or cause a terrible illness if eaten: There are several poisonous plants that cause very unpleasant skin diseases; such as, poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.

Poisonous plants grow as vines or bushes, and the leaves have three leaflets (poison ivy, poison oak) or a row of paired leaflets (poison sumac).

A poisonous plant can cause itching, burning, and blistering at the places of the skin where contact has occurred and in some people these skin reactions can be extremely severe and very uncomfortable.

The poisonous plants that are very dangerous to eat include foxglove, aconite, hemlock, laburnum seeds, and many types of berries, including the berries of deadly nightshade and holly.

The seriousness of the symptoms of poisonous plants are different depending on the plant and may include abdominal pain, vomiting, excitement, breathing difficulties, delirium, and even coma.

Children should be taught not to sample any berries of potentially poisonous plants or any kind of wild plants.

More about poisonous plants

There are hundreds of different poisonous plants including many household plants and flowers; a few of which are described here.

• Poison ivy occurs throughout the United States growing as a bush or a vine where each leaf consists of three shiny leaflets. When anyone comes in contact with these plants, an oily substance from the surface of the plant causes irritation on the skin that can be very severe and spread even more when the skin is scratched.
• Nightshade, also called belladonna, is about three feet high, with shiny black berries. Eating even a small part of a seed can result in symptoms; such as, a rash, blurred vision, difficulty in swallowing, confusion, and a coma.
• The foxglove, which has purplish pink flowers, is a source of the heart drug digitalis; however, eating the plant irritates the mouth and causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and a disturbance of the heart beat.