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Site of the Week: New York Botanical Garden
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Here is the question of the week from Emily's Mailbox:

August 23, 2010

Emily: Is the potato plant poisonous? What gives!

Dear Emily: I recently purchased what I was told was a Potato Vine. Afterwards I read that the wilted leaves of the Potato bush or Vine are "deadly poisonous". Is it poisonous? I have a 2 year old and do not want a poisonous plant around.

A: Unfortunately, parts of many plants are poisonous. The Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie' or Sweet Potato Vine is sometimes called Morning Glory. All the plants that I have seen called the Morning Glory are in the Ipomoea species.

My favorite poison plant site is http://www.sniksnak.com/plants.html. They have a non-poisonous plant and poisonous plant page (the page is for pets, but poisonous is poisonous). They have the Morning Glory listed as poisonous.