Have a challenging question. Can anyone help identify this plant by just the stem? We accidentally consumed leaves which made family ill for 24 hours. Trying to find out which plant it is.

Welcome to the site!

What plant did you think the leaves were from?

We have no idea, grandma harvested and cooked them. Said the leaves were green and tender.

@Franlin, do you know if the brown leaves on the ground are from this same plant?

Hope no was seriously ill. Noticed other containers, was Grandma growing vegetables?

Not sure about the leaves on ground. They may be from that plant. Grandma grows all sorts of plants. She didn't recall planting this particular one though. Thought the leaves looked tasty and cooked them up. Effects within 15 min of consuming was drug like.. muscle weakness, nausea, double vision, vomit for 24 hours.

Franlin, just curious how old is Grandma?

She's late 70s.

That must have been very difficult health wise on her at that age, sorry to hear that.

I hope you called poison control when the symptoms first appeared instead of waiting to see who survived.

I'm not sure I can post a link here, so just Google "30 of Southern California's Fascinating but Toxic Plants and Animals" and ask your grandmother whether she recognizes any of the leaves.

Link mentioned above https://www.provincejournal.co...

This stem reminds me of Plumeria.

It reminded my of Poison Hemlock. Did your Grandmother think it was carrots or Parsley?

She thought it was a leafy green vegetable. Not plumeria… we have several plumeria in our yard. Yes we called poison control that evening.

https://www.messagemedia.co/mi...

Poison hemlock photos, second slide shows stems.

@Franlin
What is the diameter of that stem?

Have you tried cutting a piece of it & taking it to your county extension agent/master gardeners to see of they can ID it? Also, when you cut the stem, is there any juice or milky substance that comes from the cut?

Were there any of the characteristic purple spots on the stem?

The stem reminds me of the tapioca plants I've grown, and my understanding is that it is a toxic plant.

I doubt we can say anything definitive based on this stem. The 'bloom' makes me think of brassicas. The side buds may sprout and give us clues.

And we cannot know for sure this plant caused it. Could she have other plants that she harvested and mixed in too? Because, how many people could eat from this one plant? Greens cook down very small.