This is extremely embarrasing, and scary. My son, 20 months old, MAY have eaten 10-15 seed pods from this plant. I don't know if he ate them, but I can no longer find them, and he had pulled them off the stem. (Not that it matters, but I was on the phone finding out that two of my husband's comrades had been KIA in Iraq...so I shamefully was not watching my son play with it.) I bought the plant from Home Depot, but they can't tell me what it is, and I can not find it via an Internet search. Poison control can't help me until I know what the plant is. It has been 3 hours since he possibly ate these "pods", and with no ill effect so far. i just really need to know what plant it is. Thank you! The plant seems to be a shrub with green, waxy leaves. It has clusters of small pink/white flowers. The "pod" I am referring to it what is left over after the flower falls off.
It looks like wintergreen to me. It's edible if that's what it is. I think the next poster is correct; the plant he mentions is in the rose family so again, you're probably ok
Thank God! Thank you so much. I called poison control back, and they said it was okay. Obviously not intended to be eaten, but not harmful. It's been a long, stressful day. thanks for all the help.
You also might have gotten quick results trying an independent garden center, particularly in this case as it happens this was a very common item. Despite their advertising as having experts on staff there is a gulf a mile wide between the gardening help available from Home Depot and similar operations and that to be found at good independent nurseries.
Really sorry to hear about the comrades KIA in Iraq. And we've all had moments where our parental vigilance slips, and I'm glad to hear yours had no disastrous consequences. Plants should never be sold without labels; it happens by accident even at reputable nurseries (and homeowners lose them of course) but HD in a lot of cases simply doesn't bother. I find this unethical.
