Foxgloves are one of the memebers of the "Digitalis" family, part of a larger family of plants, from which a drug that can strengthen the heart beat is derived. Because of that some sellers will label their seeds while others do not find it necesary. As with anything that could, potentially, be poisonous it is the does, you would need to eat a lot of Foxgloves to begin to see the effects and it is the plants leaves, not the flowers or seeds, that contain the alkaloid that would become the drug.

I have to disagree with kimmsr. Foxglove is considered highly poisonous. According to what I have read, one leaf chewed and swallowed, could cause paralysis and/or heart stoppage. I would not grow it where a child could get to it. Do a Web search on foxglove. I agree with you that seed packets should have information about poisonous plants.
Lorna

I couldn't agree more that some plants need warning labels, so many parents of young kids have no knowledge of the dangers of what's growing in their yard. You would never, ever want infants eating foxglove anf you should call poison control if they do. I don't know about dogs, their list of poisons is slightly different than ours.
Here's my list for my yard, ranging from mildly toxic to a stomach-pumping 911 call:
datura/Angel's trumpet
Potato vine/solanum
Delphinium
Foxglove
Lantana
Milkweed/asclepias
Nicotiana
Wisteria
Arborvitae
Japanese anemone
Calla lily
Bird-of-paradise
Night blooming jessamine
Columbine
Echium
Iris
Juniper
various lupines

Foxglove is a highly toxic plant, but the point is not to not plant things that are toxic. Tomato leaves are toxic, and so are green potatoes, and so are yews, which are commonly planted around foundations. The world cannot be child-proofed. The thing is to teach the child not to eat anything it can't positively identify. Dogs have to be controlled and not allowed to eat whatever they want.

There is no law that requires that a plant or seed be labeled as poisonous. Many of the most popular plants are extremely so.

Here is an excellent site about plant toxicity:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/indexa_e.htm

crankyoldman (love that name!!) has got it right. If they were to label ALL the plants that pose toxicity, most folks would be terrified and not plant anything, as far more plants are toxic to some degree than those that are not.......even very common ones, like the aforementioned tomato (and potato and rhubarb foliage and whole bunch more).

One does need to exercise some caution but they also need to exercise some common sense. Avoid planting things that produce toxic berries or fruit - these are far more appealing to small children (who automatically assume they are as edible as the berries and fruit mom gives 'em) than munching on a flower or leaf. One can start training kids at a very early age not to put things in their mouth that have not been approved by a parent. Animals are a bit easier as they tend to inately know better and seldom graze on toxic plants, but puppies and other small pets that tend to chew should be kept supervised until they outgrow this trait.

Scores and scores of gardeners for generations have grown potentially toxic plants with both kids and pets around with no harmful incidents whatsoever (myself included). Actual accidental poisonings by plants for both kids and pets are much lower than many would imagine, but if you have concerns, use caution in your plant selection. But avoiding all plants that have toxic properties will result in a very boring garden :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: UCDavis toxic plants listing

good points, i just didn't know whether if was poisonous to eat or touch and have it on your hands, i'm not worried about my kid eatn the plant though, and i've already started workn on trainn my dogs to not chew on plants, since they already chewed two small plants down this winter, grr.

Here is what the NIH says: [If the government says it then it must be true. JBTG]

Foxglove poisoning usually occurs from sucking the flowers or eating the seeds, stems, or leaves of the foxglove plant.

Poisoning may also result from taking excessive amounts of medicines made from foxglove, including digoxin, a common heart medication.

Poisonous Ingredient

* Deslanoside
* Digitoxin
* Digoxin
* Digitalis glycosides

Where Found

* Flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of the foxglove plant
* Digitalis glycosides (heart medicine)

Symptoms
Possible symptoms include:

* Blurred vision
* Halos around objects (yellow, green, white)
* Rash or hives
* Vomiting, nausea, or diarrhea
* Stomach pain
* Loss of appetite
* Irregular or slow heartbeat
* Low blood pressure
* Weakness or drowsiness
* Confusion
* Fainting
* Lethargy
* Disorientation or hallucinations
* Headache
* Depression

Hallucinations, loss of appetite, and halos are usually only seen in people who have been poisoned over a long period of time.

Old adage that more should remember on these forums:

"Sola dosis facit venenum" (It is only the dose that makes the poison.)

I have foxglove all over the property. My dog is 11; my cats are 15, 7 and 3.

Ireland is Covered with Foxglove and it's also Covered with dogs.

I'm sorry, I just can't agree that parents shouldn't have access to information about plant toxicity when making purchases. I do agree that the world can't be childproofed, but you can't protect your kids if you don't know yourself and most people have very limited plant knowledge.
+++++++++
From the Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health, 2006

There are more than 700 species of poisonous plants in the United States. Plants are second only to medicines in causing serious poisoning in children under age five. There is no way to tell by looking at a plant if it is poisonous. Some plants, such as the yew shrub, are almost entirely toxic: needles, bark, seeds, and berries. In other plants, only certain parts are poisonous. The bulb of the hyacinth and daffodil are toxic, but the flowers are not; while the flowers of the jasmine plant are the poisonous part. Moreover, some plants are confusing because portions of them are eaten as food while other parts are poisonous. For example, the fleshy stem (tuber) of the potato plant is nutritious; however, its roots, sprouts, and vines are poisonous. The leaves of tomatoes are poisonous, while the fruit is not. Rhubarb stalks are good to eat, but the leaves are poisonous. Apricots, cherries, peaches, and apples all produce healthful fruit, but their seeds contain a form of cyanide that can kill a child if chewed in sufficient quantities. One hundred milligrams (mg) of moist, crushed apricot seeds can produce 217 mg of cyanide.

About 10 million cases of poisoning occur in the United States each year. In 80 percent of the cases, the victim is a child under the age of five. About 50 children die each year from poisonings.

A person may be able to teach their own children not to mess with plants, but what about other children who may come to play in the yard?!
Lorna

This is like the discussion on planting non native plant species. Should you or should you not plant those things that could, potentially, poison someone? Because a large number of the plants that we grow are potentially poisonous we would have a relatively bland garden if we did not include those that might, possibly, poison someone. How often has someone been poisoned by eating plants out of a garden? It is such a rare occurance that if it did happen you would hear about it.

dicot im with you, i didn't know it was toxic until i stumbled on it. good info though. i didn't know all that about the toxicity of plants, and i guess when i stumbled on it i though t it was a much more serious matter.

You are mis-stating my contention, Kimmsr. I don't say don't grow them. I say label them so the consumer has the knowledge to make his or her own choices. As my list shows, I grow a number of toxic plants, including about 15 foxgloves.

You ask, "How often has someone been poisoned by eating plants out of a garden?" Did you even read what I posted from Gale? 10 million cases/year, 80% are kids, plants are the second leading cause. That is a lot of children, even if it is not necessarily a large number of fatalities.

Cranky, are you married?? I think I'm in love :-)) You have just about the best, most common sense attitude to this issue I've encountered. You go, guy!!

Lol, thanks, gardengal. I'm married to my job.:)

I am a former sales rep for a well known seed company that supplies many major chain stores including Walmart. I thought it was very funny that Walmart (in Canada) would not allow morning glories on thier seed racks as the seeds, if ingested can be hallucinogenic. However, they seemed to have no problem stocking digitalis (foxgloves) or Castor Bean which can kill you.
Have you ever tried to eat a foxglove flower? If a kid did put one in their mouth it wouldn't stay there long enough to do any damage. Foxgloves are extreamly nasty tasting (caustic). They are also beautiful and native to most of the coast of BC where I live.
I'm also of the belief that you should teach your children not to eat things they find outside the kitchen without asking first.
I am a field purchaser of wild mushrooms and my just turned 3 year old daughter can tell you the names of a dozen different mushrooms that grow in our back 40 and can show you where they grow and which ones you can eat. She also knows you NEVER eat wild mushrooms unless they are cooked and what can happen if you do.
Little kids are like sponges, it never ceases to amaze me the way they absorb information and retain it.(especially swear words!!)

I forgot to add...
Parents have limitless information about the potential hazards of any plant via the www, books, garden centre staff etc... All they have to do is look or ask. Just because it isn't printed on the lable doesn't mean it isn't out there. Perhaps people should research things they'd like to plant before making impulse purchases and expecting seed companies to babysit them.

Just to be clear, Digitalis purpurea, the showy and commonly seen foxglove on the west coast, is not native here. It was introduced from Europe.

It has been recommended to use gloves when handlig foxglove plants. Could collecting seeds without using gloves cause intoxication. The skin will be in close contact when rasping lots of seed pods from the plant. I know a person that had to seek medical help after this procedure - but it could also be caused by the fact that he had bradycardy and had had "atrie flimmer" before that.

Toxicity is the reason why I do not grow foxglove on my property. I think it is absolutely beautiful, but its poisonous nature is reason enough for me to forgo it.

Lordy, lordy!! Much ado about nothing !!

Most of the plants we grow in our gardens are toxic to some degree or another, even those grown as edibles (if you eat the wrong or improperly prepared parts). To eliminate ALL poisonous plants simply because they are poisonous would result in some pretty boring gardens. Foxgloves are no more toxic than scores of other common plants and present minimal risk to anyone unless they actually eat the plant parts and in quantity. As was mentioned previously in this thread "Sola dosis facit venenum - it is only the dose that makes the poison".

There are some plants I would not grow with small children around simply because their degree of toxicity is acute - oleander, castor bean (Ricinus) and aconite to name the top three - but I wouldn't worry much about any others. It is very easy to train even small children not pick things from the garden and put in their mouths without adult approval. I've gardened with kids and assorted pets for years and in a garden filled with a lot of so-called 'poisonous' plants without issue. As have scores of other home gardeners. The incidence of kids being poisoned by garden plants is typically quite small - according a kids' health website, only about 4% of reported poisonings in kids under the age of 6 were from the ingestion of plants or plant parts. And that includes houseplants. Most poisonings are the result of household products and medicines, not plants.

While dose is a factor in the toxicity of plants, and some plants contain toxins only in one part and not in others, ALL parts of foxglove and lily of the valley are poisonous and it takes a relatively low dose of either to cause serious illness or death. That is why these two plants head the list of dangerously toxic garden plants.

Children do not always avoid that which their parents have warned them against, and there is a wide variance in animal behavior when it comes to instinctively steering clear of toxic substances. I do not have children, and my dogs are not allowed unsupervised forays into and around my gardens which lie outside the perimeter of their fenced yard, but my cats certainly had free range of my property. Then there are neighborhood children and neighborhood dogs who occasionally wander onto the property, as well as neighborhood cats that patrol on my "hunting grounds" regularly, to say nothing of the wildlife that have free access.

I witnessed a poisoning event a decade ago when my dog drank from our brook which had developed a toxic blue-green algae bloom, unknown to us. The horrible nightmare of my beautiful collie hooked up to machines on the vet's table while the doctor attempted unsuccessfully to save his life is something that will haunt me forever. None of my dogs are allowed near the brook or any other body of water anymore. So I know from experience that plants growing in nature can be just as toxic as a can of drano or a bottle of prescription pills, and often more attractive and liable to be ingested.

Nonetheless I agree that household chemicals may poison more children and pets than plants, but household chemicals and medicines are easier to keep under lock and key than a plant out in the garden. With all the non-toxic and only mildly poisonous plants available, I prefer to forego the potentially deadly few. I also forego any pesticides or herbicides for the same reason. I feel responsible for anything that happens on my couple acres of earth, and I do not want to lose sleep over consequences of my injudicious gardening practices.

Thanks a lot for your wise response to my questions. I fully agree with you.

Columbine is toxic? The state flower of Colorado? One of the things kids do when hiking in the mountains is is pull the flowers off and suck out the sweetness.

I've read around a bit and it seems that most cases of foxglove poisoning are due to mistaken identity. Someone has deliberately made a salad or tea or something using the leaves thinking they were something else. Consequently they have eaten or drunk a fair quantity. Casual accidental contact and the odd nibble don't feature much in the records as far as I can see.

The main identity confusion seems to be with Comfrey. But even that is not something one should be consuming at all without a through knowledge of herbs.

david52's comment is very much on point and is somewhat illustrative of the alarm (often unnecessary) posts like these can stimulate. More plants than not are toxic to some degree........where one draws the line for inclusion in one's garden will always be a matter of personal choice, as it is for any other plant one chooses to include or ban from the garden.

Digitalis purpurea - common foxglove - is naturalized in my area. It grows wild along the roadsides and in forest clearings. I have never intentionally planted a foxglove in my life yet it has appeared on its own in every garden I've ever had. Depending where the plants pop up, sometimes I leave them in place; sometimes I yank them out. They are favored by pollinators like bumble bees (Bombus spp.) and hummingbirds. And like the vast majority of toxic plants, they have a long history of medicinal usage - again, supporting the concept that toxicity is in the dose.

As to the issue of labeling for toxicity, I believe that issue centers more around personal responsibility, a notion that seems to be horribly lacking in this day and age. We expect to be spoonfed everything we think we should need to live our lives safely and comfortably without expending any extra effort on our part. Maybe because I am a horticulturist and a professional gardener, I see this most often with people and plants.........I can think of few other retail goods that people purchase without knowing anything about their characteristics other than they produce pretty flowers or will "look good' in a particular spot in their garden. C'mon people - do your own research before you buy and don't blame others if you don't. It's your life and situation........accept the responsibility and take some control!!

UC list of toxic plants

I'm wondering if it's ok to plant foxglove in a garden with things we eat. I can't get any specific answers on any websites, only how toxic it is. I like to put basil in my flower garden. Just trying to figure out where to put all these plants someone gave me.

You can plant foxglove anywhere in the garden it will be happy, amongst edibles or not - the toxicity does not transfer to any other plants. Just make sure you know what the foxgloves look like before harvesting anything so you do not harvest them by mistake :-))

Thank you.

This was a good thread....an oldie but a goodie! gardengal, I still remember laughing out loud when you proposed to crankyoldman. I think you scared him away permanently!

LOL!! rhizo, I seem to have that affect on any number of men :-)) Seems like opinionated, strong spoken women are indeed scary!!

I recently saw a woman grab a foxglove flower and run it through the length of her hands. I debated saying something, but feared anyone stupid enough to do this would attack me for the warning. I'm still bothered that I didn't speak up and hope that the exposure wasn't sufficient to cause harm. I could just imagine her picking up a big juicy hamburger in unwashed hands.

Often I think GW must mean Garden Warnings.

It would take far more than just rubbing the flowers on her hands to create any sort of problem. I routinely rip out foxgloves that sprout where not wanted and never think twice about it. Digitalis (digoxin/digitoxin) is a commonly prescribed drug for various heart conditions and it is also used homeopathically. It's all about the dosage :-)

Good. I was thinking, eat a nice juicy hamburger with a hand full of that. Some people on the net suggested it's a serious allergen too. I always avoided that plant.

This issue is fraught with difficulty because either there is no accurate information available, or what is out there is simply oft-repeated old wives tales. Some claims are ridiculous, like for example: 'in the past they used deadly poisonous yew on the tips of their arrows'. If you could get a poisonous dose of yew onto your arrow tip I guarantee you'ld never shoot it because it would be so heavy.

Especially in this internet world things are repeated so often without challenge (or proof) as to appear to be cast iron fact. Of course the media go to town on certain stories. I remember how a tiny quantity of ricin could wipe out a whole city. Apparently ricin is only deadly if it enters the blood stream.

Unless researchers, chemists and botanists, worked together to produce definitive information on poisonous dosages the actual and relative degrees of toxicity wont be known and so many plants just get labelled 'deadly'.

Just for the record: I have eaten and drunk large quantities of yew and eaten small amounts of foxglove (a single leaf or a maximum of 8 flowers) and I am clearly not yet dead. (last time I looked!)

Which demands the question, ' Why'?

Some questions are better not asked.

There is a great deal of research and scientific evidence with regards to yew toxicity so I would doubt there could be much valid debate on that issue!! And yew fruit - a fleshy red aril - is nontoxic and is actually edible as a jam or baking ingredient. However the seeds contained inside the aril are of the most concentrated toxicity of any of the plant parts and it was a paste made of these seeds that the arrow points were dipped in. Weight is/was entirely a non-issue!!

For those who think there is no issue and no more education needs done I would disagree. I didn't know anything about the toxicity of foxgloves and my 7 year old son has got into wildflowers during the lockdowns. As children tend to do he was admiring the beauty of a foxglove in a forest this week and also as children are very prone to do he put his finger into one of the belllike - fingerlike flowers just for the fun of it. His finger got the pollen on him but as I had never heard of any danger with foxgloves (they are everywhere in ireland) i didn't think anything of it. I said he should wipe the pollen off on some grass but I didn't really think there would be any problem. About half an hour later he had a packet of raisins further into the forest. (We even used hand sanitiser first) A few hours later he started feeling very unwell and no appetite for any dinner and eventually threw up multiple times everywhere. Because of covid restrictions we haven't been going anywhere, and he has had no contact with people as school is out. So I know it wasn't a bug.

I think it really would help parents to know about the dangers as think how easily a young child could do the same thing and enjoy putting their fingers into the flowers, without knowing the pollen is dangerous. We don't need ot be afraid of everything but when even the pollen is dangerous in foxgloves a little wider awareness would really help.

Interesting. I’m surprised you didn't know about the toxicity though. I thought it was common knowledge in these islands where they're uniquitous. As a kid I sometimes played with foxglove flowers, putting one on each finger. I knew they were poisonous if eaten but never bothered about touching them. I never had any ill effects but then I wouldn't have eaten anything afterwards until I’d gone back indoors and washed my hands. So maybe I was lucky .