Students accused of using devil’s ivy to poison classmateBy Tsai Shu-yuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taichung City Government has said that it is investigating an alleged poisoning of an elementary-school student by their classmates using sugar water laced with devil’s ivy. A devil’s ivy plant is pictured in an undated photograph. Through online research they decided on either devil’s ivy, Asian taro or oleander, and chose one at random, it said. Asian taro and devil’s ivy are in the Araceae family of plants, which contain calcium oxalate crystals and saponins, Taichung Veterans General Hospital Department of Toxicology doctor Mao Yen-chiao (毛彥喬) said. The crystals can cause redness and mild pain if touched, and can cause mouth sores, throat pain, abdominal pain and diarrhea if ingested, Mao said.

Source: Taipei Times May 24, 2023 03:41 UTC