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By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO –Kaiser Permanente Medical Center on Zion Avenue in San Diego attracts many visitors to its medical office and hospital wings. But some visitors come as tourists and they never have to step inside.
Their destination is the small but instructive “Apothecary Garden” alongside the Medical Offices entrance where there are displays of plants that can be converted to medicines and plants that are toxic.
One needs to look beyond a plant’s common name, because some that sound positively evil have helpful medicinal qualities. The reverse is also true: plants with sweet-sounding, harmonious names, can be deadly to consume.
If someone were to say, “There’s a Deadly Nightshade on the path ahead of you,” wouldn’t most of us consider turning back? But no matter how sinister its name, Deadly Nightshade (Atropha Belladona) can help keep spasms under control and also can dilute the pupils of your eyes. So you’ll find the Deadly Nightshade planted with such other helpful plants as tea, periwinkle, garlic, poppy, marjoram, pine and aloe.
Kumeyaay Indians who have lived in this area for centuries knew the healing powers of plants, but many modern people have little more experience with medicines than opening the pill bottle.
The tea plant (Camellia Sinensis) is a bronchodialtor, meaning it can increase air flow to the lungs. Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) is used in the treatment of leukemia. Garlic, besides being a flavoring, can stimulate the digestive tract. Poppy can be used as an antidiarrheal and also to reduce pain. Marjoram has antiseptic properties. Pine can freshen the smell of a room. Aloe is often used in cosmetics.
Plants with such appealing names as “Angel’s Trumpet,” “Bird of Paradise” and “Jerusalem Cherry” are included in the “Sinister Garden” along with such other dangerous plant species as lantana, elephant’s ear, philodendron, hydrangea, calla lilly Carolina Jessamine, Chinese Wisteria, iris, azalea (rhododendron), privet and two well-known winter holiday plants: poinsettia and holly.
Although information on the plaques of the garden don’t explain the nature of the damage the different plants can do to humans, they do tell what parts of the plants you should avoid.
Stay away from the berries of the privet, holly and lantana. Avoid the fruit and seeds of the Bird of Paradise. Stay clear of the leaves and flowers. You want to avoid the bulb of the Iris.
As for the others –the Jerusalem Cherry (Solanum Pseudocapscium); Elephant’s Ear (Collocsia Esculenta); Poinsettia; Philodendron; Hydrangea; Calla Lilly (Zantedeschia Aethiopica), Agave, Carolina Jessamime (Gelsemium Sempervirens), and the Azalea – the old adage applies: Look but do not touch (or eat). These plants are poisonous in their entirety.
Many of the plants were donated to Kaiser Permanente for its educational garden by the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
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