At times, it sounded like a scene in “Little Shop of Horrors.”

You know, the one about the plant with an insatiable appetite?

The topic was “Hiding in Plain Sight, Hazardous Plants In Public Spaces: Parks, Disturbed Ground, Stream Buffers” at the Salisbury Township Environmental Advisory Council meeting.

While there might not be an Audrey in the backyard, there are plenty of fancifully-named plants to be avoided, to be aware of and to be careful around.

“I became interested in murder mysteries, and often times people would be murdered by poisonous plants,” Susan Drabic, Penn State master gardener, said at the Aug. 20 EAC meeting.

Drabic’s PowerPoint presentation included information and photographs of 15 hazardous plants and how to protect yourself.

The list of 10 “wanton weeds” includes poison ivy, nasty nettles, wild parsnip, giant hogweed, white snakeroot, jimson weed, poison hemlock, water hemlock, white baneberry and pokeweed.

The white snakeroot was implicated in killing President Abraham Lincoln’s mother, according to Drabic.

Jimson weed was cited as causing hallucinations in the Jamestown Colony in Colonial America, Drabic said.

Of poison hemlock, noted Drabic, “Socrates was its most famous victim.”

The list of five “fatal flowers and bad bushes” includes morning glories (seeds can cause nausea and vomiting), castor beans (ricin toxin), autumn crocus, foxglove (use gloves when handling) and common yew (highly-poisonous berries).

Many, which are considered invasive plants, are difficult to eradicate.

With some hazardous plants, it’s best to keep your distance.

As in “Little Shop of Horrors,” it’s best to leave Audrey well enough alone.

The Salisbury Township EAC next meets 7 p.m. Oct. 16 in the meeting room of the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave.