GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Six people remained hospitalized after eating poison stew earlier this week, and authorities said they have found the source.

Health officials said they confirmed that jimson weed is to blame for the illness the dinner guests suffered after eating an Indian potato stew at a Gaithersburg home on Wednesday. The Maryland Department of Agriculture Lab detected the stew contained both atropine and scopalamine, which are both in jimson weed.

Jimson weed is a type of plant that can easily crop up in a home garden and can be mistaken for a cooking ingredient, officials said. But it is highly toxic and is often misused for its hallucinogenic properties.

All parts of the plant contain alkaloids and are toxic, but officials said the seeds pose the greatest risk. The weed, which flourishes in sunny areas, can cause significant illness and even death.

Montgomery County Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer said authorities were called at about 1 a.m. Wednesday to a town house in the 1000 block of Travis Lane where 12 people were attending a get-together.

Half the people ate Indian potato stew prepared by a woman in the home. They became nauseous and dizzy and in some cases suffered hallucinations.

The hospitalized diners are expected to recover. But officials said the incident highlights the need for gardeners to take care.

Montgomery County health officials said a very small amount of jimson weed can cause serious neurological symptoms.

Authorities originally thought pesticide from the afflicted family's garden caused the illness. But after pulling jimson weed from the garden, they said they felt certain it was to blame.

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