Dangerous Windowsill: Which Popular Houseplants Are Poisonous to Children and Pets

Greening an apartment is a wonderful trend that makes the air cleaner and the interior cozier. However, many parents and pet owners do not even suspect that they have placed beautiful, but deadly biological traps around the house.

An Invisible Threat in a Pot

Small children explore the world through taste. Tearing off a bright leaf and trying to chew it is natural behavior for a one-year-old baby. Cats also love to chew greens. The problem is that the sap of many popular plants contains calcium oxalates, alkaloids, and saponins.

Top 5 Most Dangerous Plants

• Dieffenbachia and Monstera (Araceae family): Their sap contains needle-like crystals of calcium oxalate. Getting on the mucous membrane of the mouth causes severe swelling, burning, loss of voice, and in severe cases, suffocation.
• Oleander: One of the most poisonous plants. Just one eaten leaf can lead to cardiac arrest due to cardiac glycosides.
• Ficus: Contains milky sap with rubber. Upon contact with the skin, it causes severe allergic reactions and dermatitis.
• Euphorbia: Its sap resembles milk, but it is a caustic toxin that causes chemical burns to the skin and blindness if it gets into the eyes.
• Azalea: Contains andromedotoxin, which affects the nervous system and can cause convulsions.

What to Do?

If there are children under 5 years old or active pets (especially birds and cats) in the house, audit your green corner. Get rid of toxic species or put them in absolutely inaccessible places — on high shelves where you cannot reach even with a chair.

Replace dangerous greens with safe analogs: chlorophytum, nephrolepis (fern), saintpaulia (African violet), or maranta. They are no less beautiful, but completely harmless, even if the baby decides to chew them.