The iris, also known as the sword lily, is valued by many gardeners as a relatively easy-care flowering plant in the garden. Although it does not bear any tempting fruit, it still poses a certain potential risk for children and animals due to its toxicity.
Keep your kids away from irises because they are poisonous!
Medicinal use of different species of irises
In the medicine of earlier centuries, certain parts of the iris were used for the following purposes:
- as a wound healing agent
- for pain relief in teething children
- as an expectorant
Specialists still process the root rhizomes of certain iris species into natural emetics and throat drops. However, you should not do this on your own without special knowledge, since the wrong dosage can lead to severe symptoms of poisoning.
Caution: poisonous iris
If the leaves, flowers or roots of the iris are eaten or taken in the form of processed products, it can lead to vomiting, a burning sensation in the throat or even bloody diarrhea. Besides, the leaves and roots are also poisonous to horses, rabbits, and other pets. Children should not be allowed to play near irises unsupervised.
tips and tricks
If you cut food for your pets and dry it as hay, be sure to discard any iris leaves. Since the poison remains in the leaves even when they dry, it can also lead to poisoning when fed in dried form.