Poisonous Plants in the Landscape

They may appear innocent enough; but, there could be some hidden dangers within their showy flowers, unique fruiting structures and brilliant foliage-poisonous plants in the landscape, that is. More and more of our population reside in urban areas, creating more of a chance for uninformed outdoor enthusiasts to experience problems with harmful plants.

Poisonous plants can cause different effects-internal poisoning and/or irritation, skin rash or dermatitis and allergic reactions such as hayfever. Keep in mind the dos and don’ts of poisonous plants, particularly if children and pets are present.

• Do learn to recognize poisonous plants in your area.
• Do identify all plants in the home. Have this information on hand for use in an emergency.
• Do lock away or dispose of seeds, berries, bulbs and other plant materials that are known to be toxic.
• Do remove known toxic plants from the house, or place them out of the reach of children.
• Don’t allow children to suck nectar from unfamiliar flowers.
• Don’t let children chew on leaves, fruits, seeds or other parts of unknown plants.
• Don’t let children use natural toys and jewelry made from unknown plants.
• Don’t eat or make tea from unknown seeds, berries, leaves, flowers or roots.
• Don’t eat plants with milky or colored sap.
• Don’t eat plant bulbs.
• Don’t let animals graze on poisonous plants.

If poisonous plant material is accidentally consumed or if a reaction is occurring due to contact with a poisonous plant, call a Poison Control Center immediately. The United States Poison Control Center can be contacted at 1-800-222-1222, or Missouri’s Poison Control Center is located at Cardinal Glennon Memorial Hospital in St. Louis and telephone 1-800-366-8888.

The proceding table contains information on some of the more common poisonous plants found in our landscapes. It was taken from MU Guide G4970, Plants Poisonous to Livestock. The entire guide may also be accessed through the University of Missouri’s XPLOR site where line drawings of each plant can be viewed: http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/crops/g04970.htm. The plants in this table are known to cause poisonings if orally ingested. Poison ivy, our common culprit of skin rash, was discussed in a previous article this year.

Plant	Natural Habitat	Distribution	Poisonous Part
Black cherry	Low or upland woods and along streams.	All Missouri counties.	Damaged or wilted leaves pose the greatest risk.
Black locust	Dry or rocky upland woods, along streams, pastures, thickets and waste ground.	All Missouri counties.	Leaves, young shoots, pods, seeds and inner bark.
Bouncing bet	Gravel and sandbars along streams. Seldom found in wooded areas.	All Missouri counties.	Leaves and stems.
Bracken fern	Rocky or dry open woods, favoring acidic soils.	Primarily in the Ozark region of southern and east-central Missouri.	All parts.
Buttercups	Moist areas of woods and pastures.	Several of the 20 Missouri species are found throughout the state.	Leaves and stems.
Milkweeds	Fields, open woods, waste ground and rights-of-way.	Throughout Missouri.	Stems, leaves, sap and roots.
Ohio and red buckeye	Rich or rocky woods of valleys, ravines, slopes, bases of bluffs and thickets.	Ohio - throughout Missouri.  Red - southeast Missouri.	Buds, nuts, leaves, bark, seedlings and honey.
Snow-on-the-mountain	Dry, hot and clayey soils, fields, pastures and rights-of-way.	Scattered.  Native of the loess hills of northwest Missouri.	All parts.
White snakeroot	Rich or rocky woods, bases and crevices of bluffs, rock outcrops and thickets.	Throughout Missouri.	Leaves and stems are most toxic.  Roots have lower toxicity.
Wild indigo	Prairies, glades, rocky open slopes, alluvial soils along streams and wet pastures.	Throughout Missouri.	All parts.

Fred Fishel, IPM/PAT Coordinator, UMC, (573) 884-6361 882-3250