Nearly 80 years ago when an Army officer's 2-year old child died after allegedly eating
a poinsettia leaf, the myth of the poisonous poinsettia was born. Though the story was
later determined to be hearsay, nearly 66% of those participating in a 1995 Society of
American Florists poll still believed poinsettias to be toxic if eaten.
Abundant evidence exists to debunk the myth, however. Researchers at the Ohio State
University, working in conjunction with the SAF, tested the effects of ingesting unusually
high doses of the leaves, stems, and sap from the poinsettias and found the plant to be
nontoxic.
Further evidence of the plant's benign nature comes from POISINDEX, the information
resource for the majority of poison control centers in the United States. According ot
POISINDEX, a 50 pound child would have to eat 500 to 600 leaves to exceed experimental
doses that found no toxicity. The American Medical Association's Handbook of Poisonous and
Injurious Plants lists occasional vomiting as a side effect of ingesting otherwise
harmless poinsettia leaves. And in 1975 the Consumer Products Safety Commission cited lack
of substantial evidence in its decision to deny a petition requiring warning labels for
poinsettias.
So why does the myth persist? According to the results of an SAF-sponsored poll released
in 1994, 43% of those who believed the poisonous poinsettia myth were repeating
"word-of-mouth" information. And another 37% listed the media as their source of
information.
Of course poinsettias, like most ornamental plants, are not intended to be eaten by people
or animals. But this universal holiday symbol can safely be displayed in any environment.
