I’ve blogged before about some deceptively attractive plants that can be lethal when ingested, and I’ve recently discovered one more to add to the list.
Parts of the beautiful, flowering narcissus plant can be quite poisonous and 
deadly! Narcissus is a popular ornamental plant for personal gardens, community parks and as cut flowers in the spring and early summer. But it can be as toxic as it is beautiful and is on the list of the top ten most poisonous plants in the world.
The Tulipa/Narcissus plant species, with up to 60 different varieties, originally came from
Holland. This plant is commonly known by its three most popular varieties: the narcissus, the jonquil and the daffodil. All species of the narcissus plant family, however, contain a common deadly element: the poison lycorine.
Lycorine is a toxic crystalline alkaloid that is highly poisonous, and can be fatal if enough of the plant is ingested. Lycorine is found mostly in the bulbs of the narcissus plant family, but it is also present in the leaves.
This alkaloid inhibits protein synthesis. Depending on the amount consumed, the poison can produce intense gastrointestinal irritation, drooling, loss of appetite, headaches, low blood pressure, central nervous system depression, convulsions and cardiac abnormalities. If someone is given a large enough dose, death could result.
The Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants by Lewis S. Nelson et al describes the symptoms of narcissus poisoning well and warns that children under six are especially vulnerable.
An interesting side note is that florists who handle the plant’s leaves often 
develop a stubborn dermatitis. The condition is called “daffodil itch” and the symptoms include dryness, skin cracking and fissures, scaling and extreme redness of the skin. There is also an accompanying thickening of the skin beneath the nails from exposure to the plant’s sap.
The daffodil variety of Tulipa/Narcissus is responsible for many accidental poisonings since the daffodil bulbs look so similar to onions and might mistakenly be substituted in cooking for onions. There is evidence in literature that consumption of one or two daffodil
bulbs could prove lethal for the average adult human.
On May 1st, 2009 school children at a primary school in Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, England became seriously ill after a single daffodil bulb was added to soup by mistake during a cooking class.
So the next time you’re searching for an interesting method to kill off a character in your story, have another character cook up a batch of onion soup using several daffodil bulbs instead. The soup will be deliciously deadly!
Thoughts? Comments? I’d love to hear them!
Prescription For Murder 
I LOVE this one. Thanks, James!
Thanks, I had fun researching and writing this one also. All the best!
Thank you James, a very interesting read! Beyond the benefit of using this information in one of our novels or short stories, I wonder how many of your readers have both daffodils and pets. Would the toxicity be the same for say, dogs and cats if they began chewing on the leaves or dug up the bulbs and ate one? Would a good rule of thumb be if we have pets who frequent our yards, get rid of the daffodils?
You bring up an interesting and throught-proviking point. According to the research I’ve found, much has been written about deadly poisonings for dog and cat pets. Having daffodils in your gardens along with curious pets, might invite a safety issue and I would error on the side of caution and replace those daffodils with other equally-attractive flowering plants. Thanks for your comments!
Another great prescription, Jim. I’ll never look the same way again at daffodil bulbs while planting them.
Just plant them and don’t eat them!! 🙂
Can you get posioned from inhaling it?
Hi Dorian:
As far as I’m aware, inhalation of the narcissus/daffodil plant or its extract will not harm you.
Thanks for your interest.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about your “daffodil itch” and the best of luck in getting it resolved. Yes, it’s great advice to wear gloves when handling this plant. Thanks for sharing!
Hi James, could a death caused by this poison be passed off as a heart attack particularly in someone who already has cardiac problems or would the medical examiner/coroner be suspicious?
Hi Duncan:
Cardiac abnormalities with this poison could possibly be attributed to a heart condition, but the other side effects would likely alert an ME to investigate further — for possibly a poison, so it might be a stretch for an ME not to become suspicious and investigate further.
All the best in developing your plot.