Ranunculus, Pretty, but didn't research beforehand!

I have six squares filled with gorgeous Ranunculi (?) and just did some research online.  Oh great - it's a good thing I don't have any livestock anymore - highly poisonous to hooved stock!  Said to use gloves while handling - huh.  I've been touching them all this time, luckily, no problems. Phew! 

Toxicity[edit]

All Ranunculus species are poisonous when eaten fresh by cattle, horses, and other livestock, but their acrid taste and the blistering of the mouth caused by their poison means they are usually left uneaten. Poisoning can occur where buttercups are abundant in overgrazed fields where little other edible plant growth is left, and the animals eat them out of desperation. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, excessive salivation, colic, and severe blistering of the mouth, mucous membranes and gastrointestinal tract. When Ranunculus plants are handled, naturally occurring ranunculin is broken down to form protoanemonin, which is known to cause contact dermatitis in humans and care should therefore be exercised in extensive handling of the plants.^[5] The toxins are degraded by drying, so hay containing dried buttercups is safe.

I'll be careful to research any plants I'm not familiar with - they were just so pretty!

I was looking at some yesterday at Lowe's...!  didn't know they were poisonous either...

I decided against them because I try to plant things that are medicinal & didn't remember seeing anything about them in any of my books.  Guess I know why. 

Thanks for letting us know!

And nice pix.  They look really good in there.

Uh Oh, my wife's favorite flower is the ranunculus.  I planted two very large MM filled pots for her.  They were imported from Israel and were the largest size crowns available.  I had no idea that they are so poisonous.  In fact, I was worried that the deer might get to them.

Thanks so much for your research.  I've been picking off damaged leaves....  hmm...

By chance was there a warning on the label or plant stick that came with them? I've looked at them also but never read the tags. They are so beautiful.

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:By chance was there a warning on the label or plant stick that came with them?  I've looked at them also but never read the tags.  They are so beautiful.

CC

Nope.  I carefully read entire package to make sure I planted correctly.  No mention whatsoever.

Today I was out in the garden and I saw our very first ranunculus bloom.  In the spirit of this thread, I thought I'd take a photo:



Hopefully, the tarps I used will protect all of them from the cold (29 degrees tonight).

Another that is oh so pretty but deadly is monkshood. It is unwise to handle it without gloves as the risk of poisoning is present. And do not eat foxgloves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconitum




I do have this in my garden. It's rather lovely.

Windmere - what type is that?  VERY pretty color...!

AtlantaMarie wrote:Windmere - what type is that?  VERY pretty color...!

I dunno Marie.  I bought them from Pike Nursery right after the fall bulbs began to be available.  They are just a mix.  The only thing that stood out to me was the size of the crowns (extra large) and country of origin Israel.  All of our plants did just fine during last night's freeze.  We have lots of buds... so far I see orange, white and more pink coming.

From what the package said, we can expect about 30 or so flowers from each plant.