February Meeting 2015 - Poisonous Plants and Vegetables

Our speaker on February 11th was Dr David Donaldson, addressing us on Poisonous Plants and Vegetables, based on clinical experiences during his time in the NHS.  We were given a number of chances to guess what had been ailing a patient (or a group of people, in some cases), with varying degrees of success.

Member's guesses on poisoning caused by solanin, from eating green potatoes, were fairly successful, but less so was a case involving an older lady who mistook daffodil bulbs for onions (in this case, the need for further investigation was highlighted, as the mistake was not a simple one of observation, but symptoms of the onset of Alzheimer's Disease, with the unfortunate cook simply forgetting that daffodil bulbs actually existed).  Most of us guessed that the fruit pie made from rhubarb in fact contained not just the stalk, but also the leaves which are poisonous and should never be eaten.  We also heard about the number of plants that are medicinal in small quantities, such as digitals from foxgloves, but poisonous in larger amounts.

Many thanks to Dr Donaldson for his address, particularly as this reader cannot stand rhubarb and now has an excuse never to risk eating it again!