In Nature, there's so much beauty...but there's also a little bit of "beast", too. When out picking flowers and weeds for bouquets or drying, there are few you'll want to avoid.
Here's a list of common toxic weeds to stay away from, along with some gorgeous (and safe) alternatives.
Look but Don't Touch: Top 5 Toxic Weeds
The 5 most common poisonous weeds that are easily confused with their pretty, non-toxic cousins are:
Poison Oak
Poison Ivy
Poison Hemlock
Poison Sumac
Pokeweed
Let's take a closer look (but not too close!) at these natural no-no's and what you should be safely picking instead.
Grapevines vs. Poison Oak and Poison Ivy
Wild grapevines make great natural wreath forms. Just don't grab the wrong vines!
Like grapevines, poison oak and poison ivy
also grow up trees, but these noxious vines have easily identifiable roots and leaves.
Grapevines have independent trunks and root systems and use cute little curly-q creepers to attach to trees. Poison oak and ivy root into the tree they're climbing.
You can easily tell the difference by looking at the way the vines attach to trees. If you see shaggy bark on the vine and it's attached using little curly tendrils, it's probably a wild grapevine.
But if you see shaggy roots and "leaves of 3, leave it be"! It's likely poison oak or poison ivy.
Queen Anne's Lace vs. Poison Hemlock
Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot) makes for a stunning summer bouquet. It also dries and preserves beautifully.
But QAL's pretty relative, poison hemlock, is also pretty toxic.
Queen's Anne's Lace is more delicate, with slim stems that only grow up to about 4 feet tall and tightly bunched flowers with a purple or red dot in the center.
Hemlock grows taller and is generally a bigger plant. It's larger flowers are not as tightly bunched as Queen Anne's Lace, nor do they have the red or purple center. And though hemlock dries beautifully, it's a no-touch kind of plant.
Colorful Fall Leaves vs. Poison Sumac
Every year when Autumn rolls around, we're as ready for the colorful leaves as we are the lovely sweater weather. Just be sure you don't grab the wrong colorful leaves!
Poison sumac looks GORGEOUS...but all that vibrant color is warning you to stay away. Go with something safe like Sugar Maple leaves instead.
Buckbrush vs. Pokeweed
If you want a vibrant pop of color for your late summer arrangement in the form of berries, it's best to go with buckbrush (coralberry) or colorful rosehips instead of toxic pokeweed.
Read more about these common poisonous plants and the nasty side effects they can cause in The Top 5 Toxic Weeds to Avoid.
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