Certainly, poisonous plants exist, and Hawaii has its share of them.

A simple Google search brings up a long list of websites which will help you identify not just the plants, but also the symptoms that can occur from ingesting, or touching each dangerous plant.

Close to home, Kauai Seascapes Nursery’s website features large photos of ten of the most common noxious plants here. The website gives good hints about avoidance so you can lessen the chances of being harmed by an unknown leafy assailant.

Instead of a list of poisonous plants, the state of Hawaii maintains an online list of the top ten inquiries about plants received by the Hawaii Poison Hotline. With luck, you’ll never have to dial 1-(800) 222-1222.

Curiously, at the top of the State’s list is the popular plumeria. It seems that children, enchanted by its sweet smell are the most likely to taste the flower. All parts of the plumeria are poisonous. If large amounts are eaten, vomiting, and diarrhea will follow. The plant also produces a milky sap that can cause a rash, and skin blistering.

Second on the list, and a surprise, is taro. Every part of the taro plant can be poisonous. If the root is eaten when raw, or even undercooked, it causes immediate stomach pain, swelling of the mouth, lips, tongue, and throat. The sap or juice of the plant is likely to cause redness, itching and burning of the skin.

Of course, the well known oleander rates third. No matter what color the flowers, the plant is highly toxic. The yellow oleander is ominously known as the be-still plant. Even a lick of any part of an oleander can produce nausea, or stomach pain. Ingesting oleander can cause slowed pulse, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, and confusion.

Fourth most common calls to the Hotline are because of the poinsettia. This well known Christmas plant, causes irritation to the skin, with mild redness, although some people will develop swelling and blisters. Eating the plant can bring on nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

After numbers 5 and 6, the crown flower and the candlenut tree, the popular mango takes 7th place in the number of calls to the poison hotline. The mango plant is related to poison ivy, and the sap of the mango can cause anything from a simple rash, to blistering, or to entire body swelling.

Boy Scout Troop 75 of Pearl City has a page on their website with small color pictures identifying a dozen or so poisonous plants in various stages of growth. Their list begins with four pictures of the Apple of Sodom plant, which, in this writer’s opinion, is a highly appropriate name for a toxic plant.

It’s not only people that can be affected by plants. Our pets, too, have danger waiting in our gardens, and the wild spaces in Hawaii. LavaDogs, headquartered on Hawaii, created a list of about fifty things that can seriously harm a dog.

Hey — it’s a jungle out there. Be aware, take care, and stay safe.