Plants that Poison

House Plants
Plant	Toxic Part	Symptoms
Hyacinth, Narcissus, Daffodil	Bulbs	Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea

Oleander	All Parts	Affects the heart, produces severe digestion upset
Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane) & Philodendron	All Parts	Intense burning and irritation of the mouth and tongue. Base of tongue may swell enough to block the air passage of the throat.
Rosary Pea, Castor Bean	Seeds	Burning sensation in mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting,diarrhea,and excessive thirst. Can cause convulsions and uremia
Poinsettia	Leaves	Not as toxic as originally stated
Mistletoe	All Parts	Mild intestinal irritation and diarrhea

Flower Garden Plants
Plant	Toxic Part	Symptoms
Larkspur	Young plant, Seeds	Digestive upset, nervous excitement, depression
Monkshood	Fleshy Roots	Digestive upset, nervous excitement
Autumn Crocus, Star of Bethlehem	Bulbs	Vomiting and nervous excitement
Lily of the Valley	Leaves, Flowers	Irregular heart beat and pulse, usually accompanied by digestive upset and mental confusion
Lily	Leaves, Flowers, Pollen	Kidney failure in cats if any part of plant is ingested
Iris	Underground Stems	Produces nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting
Foxglove	Leaves	One of the sources of the drug digitalis, used to stimulate the heart. In large amounts, the active principals cause digestive upset, mental confusion and dangerous irregular heartbeat and pulse
Bleeding Heart	Foliage, Roots	May cause convulsions and difficult breathing when eaten in large quantities
Sweet Pea	Seeds	If eaten in large quantities, can produce paralytic syndrome

Vegetable Garden Plants
Plant	Toxic Part	Symptoms
Rhubarb	Leaf Blade	Large amounts of raw or cooked leaves can cause convulsions, coma
Potato	Sprouts, Foliage	Digestive Upset Green Potato Skin
Tomato	Leaves	Cardiac Depression

Ornamental Plants
Plant	Toxic Part	Symptoms
Daphne	All Parts, especially the berries	Burning sensation in mouth and throat, can cause gastro-intestinal irritation, internal bleeding and bloody diarrhea
Wisteria	Seeds, Pods	Mild to severe digestive upset
Golden Chain	Bean-like capsules where seeds are suspended	Excitement, staggering, convulsions and coma
Laurels, Rhododendron, Azaleas	All Parts	Produces nausea and vomiting, depression difficult breathing, prostration and coma
Yew	Berries, Foliage	Diarrhea, trembling, muscular weakness, difficult breathing. Rapid collapse can occur if eaten in quantity
Magnolia	Flower	Headache and depression

Trees and Shrubs
Plant	Toxic Part	Symptoms
Wild and Cultivated Cherry	Twigs and Foliage	Contains a compound that releases cyanide when eaten. Gasping, excitement, and prostration are common symptoms that often appear in minutes
Oaks	Foliage, Acorns	Affects the kidney gradually. Symptoms appear only after several days or weeks. Take a large amount for poisoning
Elderberry	Shoots,Leaves,Bark	Children have been poisoned by using pieces of the pithy stems for blowguns. Nausea and digestive upset
Black Locust	Bark,Sprouts,Foliage	Children have suffered nausea,weakness and depression after chewing the bark and seeds
Holly	Berries	Vomiting and diarrhea may occur depending on types of holly and its maturation

Wild Plants
Plant	Toxic Part	Symptoms
Mayapple	Apple, Foliage, Roots	Contains at least 16 active toxic principals, primarily in the roots. Children often eat the apple with no ill effects but several apples may cause diarrhea
Skunk Cabbage	Leaves, Rootstalk	Burning and swelling of mouth, tongue and throat
Water Hemlock	All Parts, especially the tubers	Diarrhea, violent and painful convulsions
Buttercups	All parts	Irritant juices may severely irritate the digestive system
Nightshade	All Parts, especially the unripe berry	American nightshade may lead to intense digestive disturbances while English deadly nightshade strikes the nervous system
Poison Hemlock	All Parts	The tuber resembles a large wild carrot. Nausea vomiting and convulsions may occur
Jimson Weed (Thorn Apple)	All Parts	Abnormal thirst, distort sight, delirium, incoherence and coma

Click here to return to the main Articles page.