I do know that the sap can be harmful to the skin causing contact dermatitis , but that's obviously from the stem, so the leaves should be OK, unless anyone knows better. Can I ask why you're eating off a leaf ?

If thepoisongarden is monitoring this, he will tell you. He's written books on poisonous plants.

Like Roythefoot I'm intrigued to know more about the circumstances.

Unless the plant has been sprayed with something nasty I can't see that there would be any contamination of the food.

Although the plant is related to the Ivy, the book that I have about plants states 'Not toxic'.

I suspect you're confusing Fatsia with Ricinus - both are commonly called the Castor Oil Plant, but Fatsia japonica does not contain ricin, the poisonous ingredient in the other plant.

Even so, I'm rather confused about why one would be eating food off a leaf, though I guess it could be part of the current fad for restaurant food being served on anything other than a decent crockery plate. Recently I've been served food in a jar, on a piece of rough hewn slate, on a wooden board and on one memorable occasion a ceramic tile, which simply meant a very mucky tablecloth by the time I'd finished, not to mention gymnastic manouevring to actually get the food off the tile... drives me potty, what's wrong with a plate for heaven's sake?

Happy New Year - sorry about the rant, first one this year, lol;-)

bamboo sock it to em,fancy blo### fads

;-)

You can't beat a bit of banana served on a curry leaf. Or is that a curry served on a banana leaf?