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Ku-ring-gai High School Students suspended for eating deadly angel's trumpet
The Daily Telegraph
March 27, 2009 12:00am
Toxic ... student have been suspended for eating the potentially lethal angel's trumpet. Picture: Grant Nowell
FIVE students have been suspended after eating a toxic and potentially deadly plant at a public high school, causing one of them to fall ill.
Three Year 10 boys and a Year 10 girl ate some of the dangerous plant - angel's trumpet - after a female student took it into Ku-ring-gai High School, in Sydney's north.
When one of the male students became unwell, the school called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital.
The boy was held overnight for observation and released the following morning.
A Department of Education and Training spokesman said the leaves and flowers of the plant, grown at home, were brought to school by a Year 10 girl on Thursday last week.
A police youth liaison officer will now speak to the students involved and their parents about the dangers of ingesting the poisonous plant.
"A note is being sent to parents this week to remind them of the dangers of students eating plant material that is not food and the matter will be raised at the next Parents and Citizens meeting," a departmental spokesman said.
He said the issue had been raised at two special assemblies for Year 10 students.
"The girl who brought the plant to school has received a long suspension (up to 20 days) and each of the other students has been given a short suspension," the spokesman said.
Angel's trumpet, with white, yellow, mandarin or red blooms, is related to deadly nightshade. Eating any part of the plant, particularly the flower, can cause severe gastro-intestinal symptoms, delirium and even death.
Children as young as 10 have been hospitalised after ingesting hallucinogenic cocktails brewed from the plant, native to sub-tropical South America.
Immediate medical assistance should be given to anyone who ingests any part of the plant or has an eye exposed to it. Symptoms may include intense thirst, difficulty with speech, vomiting and diarrhoea, fever and confusion.
News.com.au