Introducing your child to the great outdoors is part of the joy of parenting. Fostering a love of nature and curiosity about creation is par for the course.

However, in Australia, the flora and fauna pose hazards aplenty. Having grown up in Singapore, I am not altogether familiar with the various forms of vegetation in this land, and twice, my toddler and I have investigated harmless-looking fruit or seeds that turned out to be rather nasty.

Painful

Walking from our church to the nearby playground, we came upon some smooth, hard, magenta bulb-like fruit on the ground. One had split open, revealing what looked akin to pomegranate seeds.

Alas, my son discovered that the fruit had spiky yellow hairs on its end, that penetrated his soft little fingers and palms, creating much distress. Trying to assist him, I acquired a handful of spikes myself. My husband found us in strife and had to carefully pluck out each sliver.

Our friend later identified the fruit as having dropped from the prickly pear cactus growing over the fence of a house nearby. It was introduced to Australia in the mid-1800s and is classified as an invasive weed. Most parts of the plant are edible, but I wouldn’t like to try touching it again without some thick gloves!

Poisonous

Another Sunday, we parked beside some large trees at the back of the church. The trees had been severely pruned, but there were multiple seedpods scattered on the ground, revealing seeds that looked just like great big chestnuts.

My toddlers managed to find the bingo balls in the vestibule of the church, and rather than let them play with those tiny things which looked perfect for choking on, I took them outside, where they gleefully picked up the massive seeds.

We peeled off the brown husks, revealing insides that ranged from lime-coloured to a deep forest green. My son playfully put one to his mouth, and did it again after I batted his hand away and told him to stop. It resembled a small green apple.

My husband, the native, was upset to see our daughter placidly sucking on an unidentified seed, and swiftly removed it. Later, upon googling, I was aghast to learn that these were Moreton Bay Chestnut seeds: “Beware: these seeds may look harmless, but they pack a toxic punch, causing vomiting and abdominal pain if ingested.”

The Queensland Poisons Information Centre states: “If eaten, the seeds can cause severe diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain and dizziness. The sawdust can cause dermatitis, eczema and nasal irritation.”

It was small consolation to read on Wikipedia that “they become edible when carefully prepared by roasting, cutting up into small pieces, leaching with running water for several days, and pounding into flour and roasting it as a damper. The seeds have been prepared and eaten for at least 2,500 years.”

Thankfully, my children seemed fine – until the following night, when my son vomited after dinner. We rang the poisons hotline and they advised us to keep him well-hydrated, assuring us that nothing worse should occur, but if he deteriorated, to bring him to hospital.

After a sound sleep, he appeared right as rain (turns out he had the flu). But from now on, I am definitely going to be more cautious around plants!

Staying Alive

Australian Geographic has an informative slideshow on “The Most Poisonous Plants in Australia”, starting with the Moreton Bay Chestnut, also known as the “Black Bean”.

The website also has an article titled “Top 10 Most Venomous Animals in Australia”. Thankfully, there is another piece with reassuring data on the actual number of people affected by encounters with deadly creatures.

This puts me in mind of the comedic song, “Come to Australia (You Might Accidently Get Killed)”:

 

Mushrooms are another worry: “The edibility of most Australian species of fungi is untested.”

Even ordinary plant material like a grape can be lethal, as a poor Perth father found recently. Normally he would cut up food before handing it to his toddler, but his son’s friend passed him a grape and he choked to death despite his father’s immediate efforts at CPR. (I have purchased a LifeVac airway clearance device for such an event.)

Enjoy nature, but stay alert!

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Image courtesy of Jonathan Borba.