Poinsettia: Not Poisonous. Mistletoe: Poisonous

It's a question that arises every Christmas:  are poinsettia plants poisonous?  In spite of the widely held belief that they are, the fact is, eating a poinsettia will, at most, give a person an upset stomach.

It's a myth that dates back almost a hundred years.  It's said to have started in Hawaii in 1919, when the two year old child of an Army officer died of poisoning.  It was incorrectly assumed she had eaten poinsettia leaves.  According to WebMD.com, a person would have to eat 500 leaves to even get sick.

However, other traditional holiday decorations ARE poisonous.  Some species of mistletoe are toxic.  Holly plants are poisonous throughout; eating the berries could cause severe stomach problems.

WebMD.com has an excellent article on what Christmas plants are toxic and which are not.

More links:
WebMD on the toxicity of poinsettia.
Snopes.com on poinsettias
National Institutes on Health on mistletoe