Tree House Animal Foundation

Common Poisonous Plants

While plants add a touch of color and fragrance to our daily lives, they also inject an element of danger into the lives of our animal companions. More than 700 plants have been identified as producing physiologically active or toxic substances in sufficient amounts to cause harmful effects in animals. Poisonous plants produce a variety of toxic substances and cause reactions ranging from mild nausea to death. Certain animal species may have a peculiar vulnerability to a potentially poisonous plant.

Below is a list of some of the common plants that may produce a toxic reaction in animals. This list is intended only as a guide to plants that are generally identified as having the capability for producing a toxic reaction.

An important number to keep handy is the National Animal Poison Control Hotline: 1-900-680-000 or 1-800-548-2423 ($2.95/ minute, 10 minute average). This is a good number to call if you know the poisonous plant or substance your animal has ingested. If you do not know the plant’s name or type, be certain you take a piece of it with you when you take your animal to your local veterinarian.

PLANT	TOXIC PARTS	WHERE FOUND
Aconite	roots, foliage, seeds	Outdoor – gardens
Apple	seeds	Outdoor
Arrowgrasses	leaves	Outdoor – marshes and pools
Atropa belladonna	entire plant esp. seeds, roots	Indoor or Outdoor
Autumn Crocus	entire plant	Indoor or Outdoor
Azaleas	entire plant	Indoor or Outdoor
Baneberry	berries, roots	Outdoor
Bird-of-Paradise	pods	Indoor or Outdoor – plant
Black locust	entire plant esp. bark, shoots	Outdoor – tree
Bloodroot	entire plant esp. stem, roots	Outdoor – wooded areas
Box	entire plant esp. leaves	Outdoor – tree or shrub
Buckeye	sprouts, nuts, seeds	Outdoor – tree or shrub
Buttercup	entire plant esp. leaves	Indoor or outdoor
Caladium	entire plant	Indoor or outdoor
Carolina jessamine	flowers, leaves	Outdoor – vine
Castor-oil plant	entire plant esp. beans	Outdoor
Chinaberry tree	berries	Outdoor
Chockcherries	leaves, cherries, pit	Outdoor – shrub
Christmas berry	leaves	Outdoor – shrub
Christmas Rose	rootstock, leaves	Outdoor – garden flower
Common privet	leaves, berries	Outdoor – shrub
Corn cockle	seeds	Outdoor – wildflower
Cowbane	entire plant esp. roots	Outdoor – wildflower
Cow cockle	seeds	Outdoor – wildflower
Cowslip	entire plant esp. leaves, stem	Outdoor – wildflower
Daffodil	bulbs	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Daphne	bark, berries, leaves	Outdoor – tree
Death Camas	leaves, stems, seeds, flowers	Outdoor – woods or meadows
Delphinium (Larkspur)	entire plant esp. sprouts	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Dumb cane	entire plant	Indoor – house plant
Dutchman's breeches	roots, foliage	Outdoor – woods
Elderberry	leaves, bark, roots, buds	Outdoor – tree or shrub
Elephant's ear	entire plant	Indoor – house plant
PLANT	TOXIC PARTS	WHERE FOUND
English Ivy	entire plant esp. leaves, berries	Outdoor – parks or gardens
European Bittersweet	entire plant esp. berries	Outdoor
False Flax	seeds	Outdoor – wild herb/flower
False hellebore	roots, leaves, seeds	Outdoor – marshes and meadows
Fan weed	seeds	Outdoor – wild herb/flower
Field peppergrass	seeds	Outdoor – wild herb/flower
Flax	seed-pods	Outdoor – wild herb/flower
Foxglove	leaves	Outdoor – gardens
Holly	berries	Outdoor (Indoor at holiday-time)
Horse chestnut	nuts, sprouts	Outdoor – tree
Horse nettle	entire plant esp. berries	Outdoor – wild herb/flower
Hyacinth	bulbs	Indoor and Outdoor – plant
Iris	leaves, roots	Indoor and Outdoor – plant
Jack-in-the-pulpit	entire plant esp. roots, leaves	Outdoor – wildflower
Jatropha	seeds	Outdoor – tree or shrub
Jerusalem Cherry	unripe fruit, foliage	Outdoor – gardens
Jimsonweed	entire plant esp. seeds	Outdoor – fields
Laburnum	seeds, pods, flowers	Outdoor – gardens
Lantana	foliage	Indoor – house plant
Larkspur	young plants	Outdoor – wildflower
Laurels	leaves	Indoor or outdoor gardens
Lily of the valley	leaves, flowers	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Lupines	seeds, pods	Outdoor – gardens
Manchineel Tree	sap, fruit	Outdoor – tree
Matrimony vine	leaves, shoots	Outdoor – vine
Mayapple	unripe fruit, roots, foliage	Outdoor – wildflower
Milk vetch	entire plant	Outdoor – wildflower
Mistletoe	berries	Outdoor (Indoor at holiday-time)
Monkshood	entire plant esp. roots, seeds	Outdoor – gardens or wildflower
Moonseed	fruit, roots	Outdoor – vine
Morning glory	seeds, roots	Outdoor – gardens
Mountain mahogany	leaves	Outdoor – parks or gardens
Mustards	seeds	Outdoor – wildflower
Narcissus	bulbs	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Nicotiana	leaves	Outdoor – gardens
Nightshade	leaves, berries	Outdoor – gardens or wildflower
Oaks	shoots, leaves	Outdoor – tree
Oleander	leaves	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Philodendrons	entire plant	Indoor – house plant
Pokeweed	roots, seeds, berries	Outdoor – fields
Poinsettia	leaves, stem, flowers	Indoor – house plant
Poison hemlock	leaves, stem, fruit	Outdoor – gardens or fields
Potato	shoots, sprouts	Outdoor – wild or in gardens
Rattle box	entire plant	Outdoor – dry, sandy areas
Rhododendron	leaves	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Rhubarb	leaves	Outdoor – gardens
Rosary pea	seeds	Indoor – house plant
Skunk cabbage	entire plant esp roots, leaves	Outdoor – marsh plant
Smartweeds	sap	Outdoor – wildflower
Snow-on-the-mountain	sap	Outdoor – fields
Sorghum	leaves	Outdoor – grass
PLANT	TOXIC PARTS	WHERE FOUND
Star of Bethlehem	entire plant	Outdoor
Velvet grass	leaves	Outdoor – grass
Wild black cherry	leaves, pits	Outdoor – tree
Wild radish	seeds	Outdoor – wildflower
Wisteria	pods, seeds	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Woody aster	entire plant	Outdoor – wildflower
Yellow jessamine	entire plant	Outdoor – gardens
Yellow oleander	entire plant esp. leaves	Indoor or outdoor – plant
Yellow pine flax	entire plant esp. seed-pods	Outdoor – wildflower
Yew	bark, leaves, seeds	Outdoor – gardens

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