The Truth About Poinsettias, or, "Wow, That's a Relief"

I’ve never cared for a poinsettia before, so when I procured one during my visit to the grocery store this week, I decided to be a responsible person caring for a living thing and do some research into the proper care of this particular plant. In the process I came across this delightful factoid. I just want to know who at OSU was feeding young children hundreds of poinsettia bracts in the name of science. (I wouldn’t be surprised if they received federal funding for their research… I’d love to see the appropriations line for that…)

The widespread belief that poinsettias are poisonous is a misconception. The scientific evidence demonstrating the poinsettia's safety is ample and well documented.

Studies conducted by the Ohio State University in cooperation with the Society of American Florists concluded that no toxicity was evident at experimental ingestion levels far exceeding those likely to occur in a home environment. In fact, the POISINDEX Information Service, the primary information resource used by most poison control centers, states that a 50-pound child would have to ingest over 500 poinsettia bracts to surpass experimental doses.