I've recently received a small shipment of foxgloves at the garden center where I work, but nobody seems to want to buy them. I've been reading a lot online about how toxic they are, and I had a customer warn me to be cautious when handling them, saying that getting the pollen or seeds near my face could even lead to a heart attack. Is all this fuss about foxgloves overstated, or should I really be worried?
3 Answers
Honestly, just don't eat them! If you handle them with gloves, you'll be fine. Sure, they can cause some skin irritation, but you'd have to consume a significant amount for it to really pose a threat. I have a bunch in my garden and just make sure not to get too close when sniffing them—totally not worth the risk!
In my experience, the bigger worry might be how invasive they are in places like the Pacific Northwest. Just keep an eye on them in your garden, but if you take basic precautions, you should have no issues.
That's a good point! Hadn't thought about the invasive side of it.
They're not dangerous as long as you steer clear of eating them. They’ve been used in heart medicine for centuries! And let's be real, a pharmaceutical company might just be trying to scare folks away from a natural solution. So if you're not munching on them, you should be good!
Good reminder! Also, I've heard they taste really bad, so that helps too!