Gelsemium is a genus of plants growing in Asia that can be poisonous. Sometimes exposure is unintended.
Plant: Gelsemium genus ("heartbreak grass")
Mechanisms of accidental exposure:
(1) The plant is mistaken for another therapeutic herb that looks similar.
(2) A harvest contains a small amount of the plant.
(3) Ingestion of honey made with pollen from Gelsemium flowers.
(4) Transfer of toxic alkaloid to a non-toxic parasitizing plant.
If an accidental exposure can be ruled out, then an intentional exposure must be considered.
