There's so many ornamentals and even food crops that are toxic if ingested. I really wouldn't worry about it. I've been growing all kinds of plants with differing degrees of toxicity including castor for many years and none of my children or pets have tried to eat them. Tomato foliage is toxic, azaleas, lily of the valley, euphorbias. The list goes on and on.

Hi Sarah,

The fact of the matter is that MOST Morning Glory seeds are not seriously toxic...

The seeds of Ipomoea tricolor contain LSA which is often touted as a 'natural high',but the raw seeds are bitter and contain strong purgatives ( like the majority of Morning Glory seeds) which cause vomiting and induction of rapid loose stools...

The seedpods of Morning Glories are not particularly attractive to children and the seeds of most commonly grown Morning Glories are bitter and very unpleasant to taste which results in the immediate natural response of anyone trying to eat them to immediately spit them out,rather than to continue to chew on a very unpleasant tasting material.

Whole seeds pass through the GI tract undigested...

The seed companies put warnings on the packets as a general disclaimer but I would suggest that anyone who thinks that most Morning Glory seeds are substantially toxic to do their own homework by searching the peer reviewed medical journals online at the Nation Library of Medicine...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

There has never been a documented case of any person,anywhere at any time dying from Morning Glory seeds,although e.g., apple seeds contain cyanide like substances that will kill a person...

The Poison Control Centers will not be able to provide you with any serious peer reviewed medical journal references related to 'serious' toxicity except those relating to usage of Argreia spp (woodrose),Ipomoea tricolor(also also mis-identified as Ipomoea vciolacea,Ipomoea carnea and Turbinata corymbosa as potential recreational substances (which per se is considered to be a 'toxic threat')...and the reason is, that there aren't any others...

The fact that some 'teenies' try to get 'high' on Ipomoea tricolor has resulted in a tremendous amount of misinformation regarding the seeds of most Morning Glories which have a long history of traditionally being used as purgatives...to induce vomiting,to induce bowel movements and as an aid during birthing labor...

The immature seeds of Ipomoea alba and the closely related moonvine Ipomoea turbinata are eaten as food in India...and have been used in ancient history to aid in the production of natural latex rubber...but no serious toxicity is known to result from ingesting the seeds...

Ipomoea batatas and Ipomoea aquatica are usually cooked,but also eaten raw in salads...there are other Morning Glories which are used around the world for human food...you might want to consider adding some additional species which are known to be very edible to your gardening repertoire...

Do not be misled by improperly substantiated or otherwise slanted media-like 'reactionary hype' (from any source) for dis-information...

Request references to the actual peer reviewed medical journals to validate any 'claims' of physical toxicity...

Rely on serious peer reviewed medical journals for credible medical information...,

Hope that helps...

Ron

Here is a link that might be useful: Look up Morning Glory suppossed toxicity in PubMed...fact or Fiction ?

Ron, thank you so much for being the voice of reason! Brugmansias and daturas get a lot of critism for these supposed toxicity, too, and it all goes back to the uneducated and ignorant trying to get high...

Thanks for all the feedback!