Today, @Shiba has mentioned a plant in her garden, which causes irritation etc…
bearing in mind how seeds will spread plants far and wide…
I’m just wondering if it might be useful to have a list (with pictures if we can) of plants which are known to be dodgy…
Giant Hogweed is one I know about… found in our ditches and being dealt with by the Commune workforce…
(and it seems that the BBC and SF are on the same wavelength today… 
)
Up in Brittany it was against the law to have thistles growing along the edge of your property that could harm any commune workers tidying up. The irritant I mentioned is at ground level and has furry leaves, it is not a big plant and you don’t realise it has irritated you until later on. I found giving my arms a good soaping with hot water helped to calm it down. Oleander I believe is very toxic and should not be near kids although its everywhere here.
What still amazes me is the relative lack of education that people seem to have these days with regard to plants of any sort, and not just in France. It is almost as if, despite having a wealth of factual information at our fingertips, people have forgotten or ignored what their forebears used to tell them (or perhaps they simply don’t tell them any more).
You might want to get rid of this stuff, if your grandchildren are likely to visit… just a thought
Can’t do much at moment, too hot and too dry to dig anything. Grandson prefers to be inside with the wooden train set I bought him at xmas from Lidl, so well made and brilliant for the price plus able to get extra add-ons.
Luckily in France we don’t have the Gympie Gympie - or as it’s otherwise affectionately known the suicide plant 
@Gareth
Fascinating though this is… can you tell us about any dangerous plants that we DO have in France… that we might find in our gardens or along the roads… ???
I’m afraid not. About the most dangerous plant I’ve come across in France is l’ortie 
L’Ortie is a very useful plant…
(my brothers pushed me into a patch when I was little… .ouch, very much OUCH… but it left me immune for years and years afterwards )
This is nasty, you don’t notice it and then get huge blisters.
I am moderately experienced in plant identification, but the umbellifers give me the willies - some people can get a rash off of cultivated parsnip foliage and it will be a while before I confidently tuck into the edible forms growing in spring hedgerows… apart from fennel …
I encountered a fair old colony of giant hogweed on my route home years ago and actually germinated some seed as to my mind they may have the most beautiful umbels of all - but I chickened out and planted angelica instead.
See also fungi - in spades …
Black nightshade ? Apparently SOME genetic lines may be edible…
There’s bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara ) growing in the park and I keep meaning to just taste and spit it out …
And apparently in Italy, they eat tomato leaves in moderation …
I recently got into the habit of sucking on licorice root on a daily basis … and then I found that even relatively small doses can mess with heart rhythm and blood pressure !
I had always meant to grow my own …
Maybe coincidence but my blood pressure has gone down by 10 mm HG since I packed it in …
Don’t know what kind, but shan’t be eating / making jam with the fruit.
