Editing Rhododendron (section)

== Toxicity ==
{{Main|Grayanotoxin}}

Some species of rhododendron are poisonous to grazing animals because of a [[toxin]] called [[grayanotoxin]] in their [[pollen]] and [[nectar (plant)|nectar]]. People have been known to become ill from eating [[mad honey]] made by [[bee]]s feeding on rhododendron and [[azalea]] flowers. [[Xenophon]] described the odd behaviour of [[Greeks|Greek]] soldiers after having consumed honey in a village surrounded by ''[[Rhododendron ponticum]]'' during the march of the [[Ten Thousand (Greek)|Ten Thousand]] in 401&nbsp;BCE.<ref>Xenophon, ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]'' 4.8.19–21.</ref> [[Pompey]]'s soldiers reportedly suffered lethal casualties following the consumption of [[mad honey|honey made from ''Rhododendron'']] deliberately left behind by [[Pontic Greeks|Pontic]] forces in 67&nbsp;BCE during the [[Third Mithridatic War]].<ref>[[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica|Geography]]'' 12.3.18.</ref> Later, it was recognized that honey resulting from these plants has a slightly [[hallucinogenic]] and [[laxative]] effect.<ref>{{cite book |title=Bad Bug Book: Handbook of foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and natural toxins |publisher=Food and Drug Administration |year=2012 |edition=2nd |chapter=Grayanotoxins |access-date=3 October 2017 |chapter-url=https://www.fda.gov/downloads/food/foodsafety/foodborneillness/foodborneillnessfoodbornepathogensnaturaltoxins/badbugbook/ucm297627.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.fda.gov/downloads/food/foodsafety/foodborneillness/foodborneillnessfoodbornepathogensnaturaltoxins/badbugbook/ucm297627.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> The suspect rhododendrons are ''[[Rhododendron ponticum]]'' and ''[[Rhododendron luteum]]'' (formerly ''Azalea pontica''), both found in northern [[Asia Minor]]. Eleven similar cases during the 1980s have been documented in [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]].<ref name="Poison honey">{{cite journal |author1=Sütlüpmar, Nurhayat |author2=Mat, Afife |author3=Satganoglu, Yurdagül |name-list-style=amp |date=February 1993 |title=Poisoning by toxic honey in Turkey |journal=Archives of Toxicology |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=148–150 |doi=10.1007/BF01973687 |pmid=8481104 |bibcode=1993ArTox..67..148S |s2cid=9658996}}</ref> Rhododendron is extremely toxic to horses, with some animals dying within a few hours of ingesting the plant, although most horses tend to avoid it if they have access to good forage. Rhododendron, including its stems, leaves and flowers, contains toxins that, if ingested by a cat's stomach, can cause seizures and even coma and death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 plants that are poisonous to cats |url=https://bombaykittens.com/catsblog/tpost/oppr98scs1-10-plants-that-are-poisonous-to-cats}}</ref>