English bluebell
General poisoning notes:
English bluebell (Endymion non-scriptus) is an ornamental bulb plant that is grown outdoors and forced indoors for its early spring flowers. This species was formerly included under the genus Scilla. The plant contains glycosides, which are chemically similar to the cardiac glycoside digitalis. Cattle, a horse, and humans were poisoned after ingesting this plant. Children or family pets should be prevented from chewing the plants (Cooper and Johnson 1984).
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Hyacinthoides nonscripta (L.) Garcke
Vernacular name(s): English bluebell
Scientific family name: Liliaceae
Vernacular family name: lily
Hyacinthoides nonscripta (L.) Garcke
Geographic Information
Plant or plant parts used in or around the home.
Toxic parts:
All parts, bulbs, flowers, leaves.
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
The plant contains glycosides, generally termed scillarens, which are similar to the cardiac glycoside digitalis (Cooper and Johnson 1984).
Toxic plant chemicals:
unknown chemical
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.
Cattle
General symptoms of poisoning:
Breathing, shallow, heart rate, slow, lethargy, temperature, depressed.
Notes on poisoning:
A group of cows and calves in Britain grazed on English bluebells and a few days later became dull and lethargic, chewed intermittently, and produced hard, dry feces. Temperature and respiration were decreased and heart beat became erratic. Lactating cows became dry. Recovery was slow when the cows were removed from the plants and given extra feed (Cooper and Johnson 1984).
Horses
General symptoms of poisoning:
Abdominal pains, diarrhea, skin, cold and moist, temperature, depressed, urination, absent, vomiting.
Notes on poisoning:
A horse that ate several bulbs of English bluebell became ill within 6 h. Symptoms included initial choking, abdominal pain, slow pulse, low temperature, and cold, clammy skin. Within 10 h the animal produced dark-colored diarrhea with blood and ceased urinating. The horse recovered slowly, passing blood-stained urine for several days (Cooper and Johnson 1984).
Humans
General symptoms of poisoning:
Abdominal pains, diarrhea, heart rate, slow, skin, flushed.
