Poisonous House Plants
Toxic House Plants For Humans, Cats And Other Pets
Poisonous House Plants can put children or pets
at risk. Learn how to handle and recognize a poisonous indoor plant.
Which indoor plants are toxic for
humans and pets?
A lot of the beautiful house plants we love to grow are poisonous or can cause severe allergies in pets and humans. You don't have to avoid all of these
plants if you know how to handle them with care and if you are not allergic to them.
The milky sap of plants like Poinsettias or Crown-of-thorns plant can
cause skin irritations and allergic reactions. If you handle these plants with care they are safe to have in your home.
This is the Crown-of-thorns plant (Euphorbia milii). If the plant gets injured it excretes a milky sap that is poisonous.
Children And Toxic Plants
Of course this is different if you have small children or pets like
cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs or pet birds that are allowed to roam
the house freely.
These pets sometimes like to nibble on leaves, stems or twigs and expose
themselves to the toxins. Check this page for house plants safe for cats and other pets.
Children are often tempted by colorful fruit or berries
and might eat some without anybody noticing. That is just too dangerous!
One such plant is the Winter or Christmas Cherry. This toxic plant has
very attractive orange berries . These berries are of course very
children and nearly look nearly like small cherry tomatoes. This is maybe a
poisonous house plant I would not recommend to have around if you have small
children! It is just not worth taking the risk.
How To Handle Dangerous Plants
- Use rubber gloves when handle these plants.
- Avoid contact with the sap especially with eyes,mouth and open wounds.
- Avoid growing poisonous plants until children are old enough to recognize the danger.
- Pets don't always know which plants are save and
which are dangerous for them. It is best not to have these type of
plants if you keep pets in the house.
- Always wash your hand thoroughly after handling toxic plants.
- Avoid rubbing your eyes while working with these plants.
Plants And Plant Families With Skin-irritating Substances
Euphorbiaceae - Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima),
Crown-of-thorns or Christ plant (Euphorbia milii), Croton (Codiaeum
variegatum), Cattail (Acalypha)
Araceae - Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia), Chinese Evergreen
(Aglaonema), Flamingo Flower (Anthurium), Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera),
Calla Lily (Zantedeschia)
Amaryllidaceae - Amaryllis (Hippeastrum), Tulips, Narcissi, Hyacinths, Clivia
Plants That Can Cause Allergies
Some plants are not toxic but they can cause allergies in sensitive
people. The allergies can be caused by the sap or the tiny hairs on
leaves or stems.
A prime example for this is the German Primrose (Primula obconica).
Cyclamen have a substance in their bulbs that can cause allergies but you would seldom
get into contact with it.
Photo: Timothy Valentine
List Of Poisonous House Plants
This list contains popular house, container and patio plants that are
poisonous and the parts of the plants that contain the toxins.
- Acalypha hispida - Catstail - sap
- Adenium obesum - Desert Rose - sap
- Ageratum houstonianum - Flossflower - whole plant
- Aglaonema - Chinese Evergreen - whole plant
- Allamanda cathartica - Golden Trumpet - whole plant
- Alocasia - Elephant Ear plant - whole plant
- Anthurium sherzerianum - Flamingo Flower - whole plant
- Asparagus - Ornamental Asparagus - berries
- Aucuba japonica - Aucuba - berries
- Begonia semperflorens Hybr. - Begonia - whole plant
- Browallia - Sapphire Flower - whole plant
- Brunfelsia - Lady Of The Night - whole plant
- Buxus semperirens - Box Tree - leaves
- Capsicum annuum - Ornamental Pepper Plant - whole plant
- Carissa macrocarpa - Natal Plum - whole plant but not fruit
- Catharanthus roseus - Madagascar Periwinkle - whole plant
- Cestrum - Night Jessamine - whole plant
- Clivia miniata - Clivia - whole plant, berries are very poisonous
- Codiaeum variegatum - Croton - sap
- Cycas revoluta - Cycad - whole plant
- Datura - Devil's Trumpet - whole plant
- Dieffenbachia - Dumb Cane - whole plant
- Diplandenia - Mandevilla - whole plant
- Euphorbia milii - Crown-of-thorns - sap
- Gloriosa superba - Gloriosa Lily - bulbs
- Hedera helix - Ivy - berries and leaves
- Heliotropium arborescens - Garden Heliotrope - whole plant
- Hippeastrum - Amaryllis - whole plant
- Hoya - Wax Flower - whole plant
- Hyacinthus orientalis - Hyacinth - bulbs
- Iris - Iris - whole plant
- Jatropha podagrica - Buddha Belly Plant - whole plant
- Lantana - White Sage - whole plant
- Lilium - Lily - bulbs
- Lonicera - Honeysuckle - berries
- Monstera deliciosa - Swiss Cheese Plant - whole plant
- Narcissus - Daffodils - bulbs
- Nerium oleander - Oleander - whole plant
- Pachypodium - Madagascar Palm - stem and leaves
- Petunia - Petunia - whole plant
- Philodendron - Philodendron - whole plant
- Primula obconica - German Primrose - whole plant
- Ricinus communis - Castor Oil Plant - seeds
- Senecio bicolor - Silver Ragwort -whole plant
- Solanum pseudocapiscum - Winter Cherry - whole plant and the berries!
- Spatiphyllum - Peace Lily - foliage in larger quantities
- Trachelospermum jasminoides - Star Jasmine - sap
- Tulipa - Tulip - bulbs
- Zantedeschia - Calla Lily - whole plant
House Plants Safe For Cats:
Some of our beautiful house plants can be dangerous for our pets. Cats
and house plants can go very well together. Cat friendly house plants
harm your pet .
If you are interested in more detailed house plant care advice check out these books
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