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 Knowing which plants are dangerous, will help you
protect your family, pets, and animals.
Poisonous woody plants and flowers found in home landscapes
• Azaleas and their relative, rhododendron, cherished for their
beautiful spring flowers, contain the toxin, grayanotoxin in their
flowers and leaves.
• The American holly, loved for its shiny green leaves and red
berries, can cause gastrointestinal distress if eaten.
• The yew family of evergreen shrubs and trees used often in
landscape plantings contain the toxin, taxine and are considered
toxic to humans and animals.
Poisonous common landscape flowers
• Daffodil, hyacinth, and narcissus contain the toxin, lycorine,
which if eaten typically causes nausea.
• The lily-of-the-valley contains a toxin that can affect the heart.
• All parts of Larkspur and foxglove are considered toxic.
Common poisonous plants found in nature or as a weed
• All parts of the jimsonweed are considered toxic.
• Nightshade, which is in the Solanaceae family, contains the toxin,
solanine, which can cause throat irritation, nausea, vomiting,
drowsiness and can be fatal depending on the species.
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• All parts of poison hemlock are highly toxic to human and
animals and contain the toxin, coniine.
• Poison ivy has the poisonous oil, urushiol, in all parts of the plant, which
causes skin irritation, rash and blister. The poisonous oil can be spread from
one surface to another or by smoke if the plant is burned.
• Pokeweed and its purple berries are considered mildly toxic and can cause
severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Poison Center have
created a very informative poster on the poisonous plants that are most involved
with poisonings in Illinois. It is available for free download:
https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/publications/
Documents/00000653.pdf.
Another valuable resource is the Illinois Poison Center’s “List of Plants to
Avoid”. This list includes the poisoning symptoms of each plant and what to do
in the case of a possible poisoning.
[SOURCE: Douglas Gucker, Local Foods
and Small Farms Educator, University of Illinois Extension] |
