Toxicology Tuesday, January 15

A common phone call at a vet office is "My pet just ate a house plant; is it poisonous?" This is not a "yes or no" question - the answer depends on the type of plant, what part or parts are eaten, perhaps how much the pet ate, and what type/how big the pet is.

Here is a typical group of house plants (mine):

Ignore the Peace Lily in the back right of this photo - we already covered it in a previous post. The rest came in one of those florist's baskets, a mixed arrangement of foliage plants crammed into a too-small container. It was a "Thank you" gift from Heidi's owners (remember Heidi?) I took the arrangement apart and repotted the plants as small groupings.

Group 1

Group 2

What can you tell us about these plants? Do you know their names, or if they are:

Toxic or Not?
. . . . .

Edit: Wed., Jan. 16

So, from the dearth of responses, I can see this is not a popular topic. Tell you what we are going to do. I'm going to give you some more time to research this one, because it is a toughie, and because I am going to be off the air for nearly two weeks (see next entry.) Here are some close-ups of the six plants in question, and I added some hints to the comments section to help you out.

Answers after I return on January 27.

In Group 1, we have the following three plants:

A. Philodendron

B. Dracaena marginata

C. Dieffenbachia

And, these three plants are in Group 2:

D. Aucuba japonica

E. Parlor palm

F. Syngonium podophyllum

See you in a couple of weeks. Have fun!

. . .

----- Answers -----

It's Jan. 27, I'm back, and here are your answers:

A: Philodendron. A very common household plant, the philodendron is in fact toxic. It, like many of the plants shown here, is a member of the Arum family (Araecea), and the toxic element is an oxalate. (more on oxalates below) Personally, I have had many philodendrons over the years and many houseplant-eating dogs and cats, and I have never had this one be chewed by pets. Neither have I seen a case of toxicity related to Phil in my practices.

B. Dracaena marginata. There are many types of Dracaena, some of which are called "Corn Plants." Most Dracaenas are nontoxic, as is this species.

C. Dieffenbachia. Also called "Dumbcane" for its potential to cause vocal cord paralysis and temporary loss of speech. Listed as toxic, this member of the Arum family also contains calcium oxalates.

D. Aucuba japonica goes by many common names, including Gold Dust Plant, Japanese Aucuba, and Spotted Laurel. It is toxic, too, but here the agent is a glycoside found in the fruit and leaves.

E. The Parlor Palm's Latin name is Chamaedorea elegans, but it is sold as Neanthe bella. (Go figure.) It is nontoxic.

F. Syngonium podophyllum, or Nephthytis, is often called Arrowhead Plant, Arrowhead Vine, or Goosefoot Plant. It is related to Philodendron, and as another member of the Arum family, contains oxalates, making it toxic to pets.

What does all this mean for your pets and mine?

The glycosides found in the Gold Dust Plant are minor toxins. Mild GI upset, vomiting and diarrhea, might be seen if a pet ingests this plant.

Calcium oxalates, the toxic principle of three of the above plants, and the Peace Lily seen in the back right of the first photo, cause oral irritation, drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and perhaps a loss of voice from vocal cord paralysis. It is rare that a pet would ingest a sufficient quantity to cause serious health risks or death, however.

I am not concerned about keeping any of these plants in my house with my 4 cats and 2 dogs. Interestingly, the two plants receiving the most abuse from my plant-loving cats are the Parlor Palm and the Dracaena, the two nontoxic plants. Is that because they have tried the others and found the bitter taste and oral irritation to be repellent? Is it because the thin leaves look and feel like blades of grass? Or, have we just been lucky? In any event, I do try to keep my cats from chewing the plants, not so much for the cats' sake, as for that of the plants.

The take-home lesson from this exercise is to Know Your Houseplants. You can see this is a challenge, since one plant can have many different common names and even the scientific names may vary. Please, if you have house PETS and house PLANTS, take the time to learn the names of your plants. Do it now, before Fido shreds that thing you got as a housewarming gift from Aunt Fern.

I have two reference books, one by the Sunset publishing house (you can find it at the big box hardware stores) and one by the American Horticultural Society, and I wish I had more. You need at least two books, because no one book will have photographs of every species or variety of houseplant out there. When you buy or receive a new plant, save the care tag that comes attached to it, or at least write down the name.