Be Careful Who's Under the Mistletoe

Before you go out and buy plants for the Holidays to deck your halls, be aware that some of them may be toxic, and could be injurious to children and pets. Did you know that Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens) is a poisonous plant? According to MedlinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus) mistletoe is an evergreen plant with white berries. Mistletoe poisoning occurs when someone eats any part of the plant. Poisoning can also occur if you drink tea created from the plant or its berries. The poisonous ingredient is Phoratoxin and is found in all parts of the plant, but especially in the leaves.

Symptoms of poisoning are blurred vision, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, weakness and drowsiness. If you suspect poisoning, do not make the person throw up unless instructed to do so by a poison control or a health care professional. If you have an exposure, call your local emergency number (such as 911) or the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.



Some interesting facts about Mistletoe
Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. Mistletoe was believed to have the power of bestowing fertility, and the dung from which the mistletoe was thought to arise was also said to have "life-giving" power. In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night so that not all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry. 

From The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens:

"From the centre of the ceiling of this kitchen, old Wardle had just suspended with
his own hands a huge branch of mistletoe, and this same branch of mistletoe
instantaneously gave rise to a scene of general and most delightful struggling
and confusion; in the midst of which,
Mr. Pickwick, with a gallantry that would have done honour to a descendant of
Lady Tollimglower herself, took the old lady by the hand, led her beneath the
mystic branch, and saluted her in all courtesy and decorum."