American holly- Ilex opaca Ait.-poisonous plant

American holly

General poisoning notes:

American holly (Ilex opaca) is an ornamental shrub that provides glossy green leaves and red berries used in Christmas decorations. Ingested berries have been implicated in cases of poisoning of children. The symptoms included vomiting and diarrhea (Rodrigues et al. 1984, Lampe and McCann 1985).

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Ilex opaca Ait.

Vernacular name(s): American holly

Scientific family name: Aquifoliaceae

Vernacular family name: holly

Geographic Information

Plant or plant parts used in or around the home.

Toxic parts:

Mature fruit

Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:

Ilicin is a crude extract that is a bitter glycoside. This extract has been implicated as the poisonous substance (Rodrigues et al. 1984).

Toxic plant chemicals:

Ilicin

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Humans

General symptoms of poisoning:

Diarrhea, drowsiness, vomiting

Notes on poisoning:

Ingestion of a "handful" of berries caused repeated vomiting, green, watery diarrhea, and passage of green semisoft stools. The drowsiness might have been associated with the ipecac-induced vomiting. Ingestion of berries usually results in mild symptoms unless a lot of berries are eaten. Children are more likely to eat the berries (Rodrigues et al. 1984).