European spindletree
General poisoning notes:
European
spindletree (Euonymous europaeus) is an ornamental shrub that can grow
in the warmer parts of Canada. The shrub has poisoned children as well as
goats, horses, and sheep. Children are attracted to the mature fleshy orange fruits,
which contain seeds with cardiac glycosides and alkaloids. Children have become
quite ill. Fatal poisoning has occurred in two horses after they ingested
shoots of this plant (Frohne and Pfander 1983, Cooper and Johnson 1984, Lampe
and McCann 1985).
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Euonymus europaeus L.
Vernacular
name(s): European spindletree
Scientific family
name: Celastraceae
Vernacular family
name: stafftree.
Geographic Information
Plant or plant
parts used in or around the home.
Notes on Poisonous plant parts:
The conspicuous
fruiting structures of the European spindletree entice children to eat them.
The seeds contain toxins that have caused poisoning of children (Frohne and
Pfander 1983).
Toxic parts:
Bark, leaves, seeds
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
Several cardiac
glycosides have been found in the seeds, including evomonoside, whose aglycone
is digitoxigenin. Alkaloids also make up about 0.1% of the seeds, including
evonine. The toxicity of the alkaloidal fraction has not been studied. Cardiac
glycosides are also found in the leaves and bark (the alkaloid content is too
low to be of any consequence) (Frohne and Pfander 1983, Lampe and McCann 1985).
Toxic plant chemicals:
Evomonoside, evonine.
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an
animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993)
contained no detailed explanation.
Goats
Horses
General symptoms of
poisoning:
Constipation,
death, heart rate, elevated.
Notes on poisoning:
In one case in
Europe, two horses had access to the shoots of European spindletree and they
ingested large quantities of them. The animals suffered paralysis of the
digestive tract. The pulse was rapid and the horses died within 4 days.
Postmortem examination showed inflammation of the intestines (Cooper and
Johnson 1984).
Humans
General symptoms of
poisoning:
Convulsions,
death, diarrhea, hallucination, vomiting.
Notes on poisoning:
Children are
attracted to the bright orange fruits, which contain toxic seeds. Symptoms
occur 10-12 h after ingestion and include diarrhea, vomiting, stimulation of
the heart and, in more severe cases, hallucination and loss of consciousness.
In one fatal case, the child had blood-stained diarrhea and convulsions before
death (Cooper and Johnson 1984).
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