Is the lily of the valley toxic? Missouri woman caught trying to poison husband’s smoothie with the flower

Cole County Circuit Court authorities charged a high-school teacher in Missouri with attempted murder after she allegedly poisoned her husband on January 17 with lily of the valley.

According to police, Sarah Scheffer admitted to poisoning her husband using the root of lily of the valley, which is known to contain a compound that slows the heart.

As per a probable cause statement from the Jefferson City Police Department, Scheffer's husband experienced "extreme fatigue, confusion, blurred vision, severe cotton mouth and nausea on eight different occasions after eating or drinking." Scheffer's husband told police that he also confronted Scheffer on January 1 after he experienced a "bitter taste" in a drink Scheffer brought him.

On January 16, the husband claimed he found a bowl containing a root from a bag labeled "lily of the field' on Scheffer's disk.

Is the lily of the valley toxic?

As per WebMD, lily of the valley is a common garden flower that grows in the northern hemisphere across the USA, Europe, and Central Asia. The plant grows small, demure white bell flowers that are highly toxic and can cause severe illness and death.

All parts of the plant can cause illness when consumed. The plant is categorized as highly toxicity. Several compounds of the lily of the valley can affect the heart, and ingesting the plant can lead to severe illness, cardiac arrest, and death.

The root of the flower, which according to Scheffer's husband, was found on his wife's desk, is known to contain the most amount of poison. The plant can affect the heart, causing it to pump slower and more forcefully. It can also cause gastrointestinal symptoms and nervous system symptoms, such as confusion, as allegedly experienced by Scheffer's husband. It can also cause vision and skin problems.

Scheffer's husband as per People set up a hidden camera after he felt ill on eight different occasions and caught her adding a bowl containing the root of lily of the valley to a blender to prepare a smoothie.

Scheffer's husband presented the video to police, after which Scheffer allegedly confessed to putting the plant into her husband's beverage. As per the probable cause statement, Scheffer admitted adding the plant into a blender with the intent to cause her husband harm. She also admitted to knowing that ingesting the plant could result in death and admitted that she knew that the act was illegal.

As per Fox News, officers with the Jefferson City Police Department reportedly have sent the contents of the blender for further testing.