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Iowa Statewide Poison Center, A Public Service provided jointly
by St. Luke's Regional Medical Center/Iowa Health System, Sioux City,
and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City
Peer Review Status: Internally and Externally Peer
Reviewed
Creation Date: April 2001
Last Revision Date: April 2001
Do you know what to do if someone eats or
comes in contact with a Poisonous Plant?
How friendly are your houseplants?
Household plants have become one of the nations leading
substances ingested by children.
This information will help you in identifying plants that are
poisonous. The plants listed are ones that are most commonly asked
about.
It is important that you know the names of all the plants in your
home and yard, because we cannot accurately identify your plants from
a telephone description.
If you do not find a particular plant on these lists please call
or write your Poison Center.
If you do not know the name of a plant, have it identified at the
nearest landscape and gardening center in your area.
The lists of toxic and non-toxic plants are not complete and
include only the plants that are asked about most often. If you have
a question about a plant not included on these lists, please call or
write the Iowa Statewide Poison Center, 1-800-222-1222. 2720 Stone
Park Boulevard, Sioux City, Iowa 51104.
Remember to:
Never eat any part of an unknown plant or mushroom. Teach your
children to never put leaves, stems, bark, seeds, nuts or berries in
their mouths.
Remember all plants, even non-toxic plants, can be a choking
hazard, particularly in small children.
Non-Toxic Plants
The following plants are considered essentially non-toxic (safe,
not poisonous). Symptoms from eating or handling these plants are
unlikely. Any plant can cause unexpected reactions in certain
individuals.
- Abelia
- Absynnian Sword Lily
- African Palm
- African Violet
- Airplane Plant
- Aluminum Plant
- Aralia
- Araucaria
- Asparagus Fern (Dermatitis)
- Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant)
- Aster
- Baby's Tears
- Bachelor's Buttons
- Bamboo
- Begonia
- Bird's-Nest Fern
- Black Olive (Little info as to whether a problem or not)
- Blood Leaf Plant
- Boston Ferns
- Bougainvillea
- Cactus (Certain varieties)
- California Holly
- California Poppy
- Camelia
- Christmas Cactus
- Coleus Species
- Corn Plant
- Crab Apples
- Creeping Jennie, Moneywort, Lysima
- Croton (House variety)
- Dahlia
- Daisies
- Dandelion
- Dogwood
- Donkey Tail
- Dracaena (Caution with animal ingestions)
- Easter Lily
- Echeveria
- Eucalyptus (Caution)
- Eugenia
- Flowering Crab
- Gardenia
- Gloxinia
- Grape Ivy
- Hedge Apples
- Hen Chicks
- Honeysuckle
- Hoya
- Impatiens
- Jade Plant
- Kalanchoe
- Lilac
- Lily (Day, Easter, or Tiger)
- Lipstick Plant
- Magnolia
- Marigold
- Monkey Plant
- Norfolk Island Pine
- Peperomia
- Petunia
- Prayer Plant
- Purple Passion
- Pyrocantha
- Rose
- Sanseveria
- Scheffelera
- Sensitive Plant
- Spider Plant
- Swedish Ivy
- Umbrella
- Violets
- Wandering Jew
- Weeping Fig
- Weeping Willow
- Wild Onion
- Zebra Plant
Toxic Plants
The following plants are considered TOXIC* (poisonous, possibly
dangerous).
- Acorn
- Anemone
- Angel Trumpet Tree
- Apple Seeds
- Apricot Pit (Kernels)
- Arrowhead
- Avocado (Leaves)
- Azaleas
- Betel Nut Palm
- Bittersweet
- Buckeye
- Buttercups
- Caladium
- Calla Lily
- Castor Bean
- Chinese Lantern
- Creeping Charlie - Ground Ivy (glechoma hedercea)
- Crocus, Autumn
- Daffodil
- Daphne
- Delphinium
- Devil's Ivy
- Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane)
- Elderberry
- Elephant Ear
- English Ivy
- Four O'Clock
- Foxglove
- Hemlock, Poison
- Holly Berries
- Horsetail Reed
- Hyacinth (bulbs)
- Hydrangea
- Iris
- Ivy (Boston, English)
- Jack-in-the-Pulpit
- Jequirity Bean or Pea
- Jerusalem Cherry
- Jessamine (Jasmine)
- Jimson Weed (Thorn Apple)
- Jonquil
- Lantana Camara
- Larkspur
- Laurels
- Lily-of-the-Valley
- Lobelia
- Marijuana
- Mayapple
- Mescal (Peyote)
- Mistletoe
- Moonseed
- Monkshood
- Morning Glory
- Mushroom
- Narcissus
- Nephthytis
- Nightshade
- Oleander
- Peach Seeds
- Periwinkle
- Philodendron
- Poison Ivy
- Poison Oak
- Poppy (California Poppy excepted)
- Pokeweed
- Potato (Sprouts)
- Primrose
- Ranunculus
- Rhododendron
- Rhubarb (Blade)
- Rosary Pea
- Star-of-Bethlehem
- Sweet Pea
- Tobacco
- Tomato (Vines)
- Tulip
- Water Hemlock
- Wisteria
- Yew
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*These plants contain a wide variety of poisons, and symptoms may
vary from a mild stomachache, skin rash, swelling of the mouth and
throat to involvement of the heart, kidneys, or other organs.
Some do's and don'ts
- Never eat any part of an unknown plant or mushroom. Teach your
children never to put leaves, stems, barks, seeds, nuts, or
berries from any plant into their mouths.
- Keep poisonous house plants out of reach of young children.
Store bulbs and seeds out of sight and out of reach.
- Learn to identify the poisonous plants in your
neighborhood.
- Do not assume a plant is not poisonous because birds or other
wildlife eat it.
- Do not rely on cooking to destroy toxic chemicals in plants.
Never use anything prepared from nature as a medicine or
"tea."
Remember that any plant can cause unexpected reactions in certain
individuals. Always check with the Poison Center or your physician if
a plant has been ingested.
The Poison Center can give you more specific information on these
or other plants that can be poisonous that may not be on this list.
Iowa Statewide Poison Center 1-800-222-1222 (Call
Toll-free--Iowa Only)
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