Toxic Plants for Exotic Pets
If you can’t identify a plant, don’t feed it to your pet.
Nurseries, agricultural extension agents, botanical gardens, arboretums, and various books and websites can help you identify plants. Plants often have different common names in different parts of the country — always confirm the scientific name to ensure you have the correct information. A good guideline is to only feed plants that multiple reliable sources confirm are safe. Just because a plant has an edible fruit or nut does not mean other parts are safe, and just because a leaf is edible does not mean the fruit, seeds, or roots are.
If you are landscaping an enclosure for birds, tortoises, herbivorous lizards, or rabbits, ensure that all plants are confirmed nontoxic.
Plants That Are Toxic and Should Never Be Fed to Your Pets
- Acokanthera — Acokanthera species (all parts toxic except ripe fruit)
- Amaryllis — Amaryllis species
- Angel’s Trumpet — Datura species (leaves, seeds, flowers)
- Apricot — Prunus armeniaca (pits, leaves, bark)
- Apple — Malus spp. (seeds, leaves, bark)
- Avocado — Persea americana (pit, leaves, unripe fruit, stems)
- Azalea — Rhododendron canadensis
- Balsam Pear / Bitter Melon — Momordica charantia
- Baneberry — Actaea rubra, A. pachypoda
- Belladonna — Atropa belladonna
- Bird of Paradise — Poinciana species (seed pods and flowers)
- Bittersweet — Celastrus species
- Black Locust — Robinia pseudoacacia
- Boxwood — Boxus species
- Bracken Fern — Pteridium aquilinum
- Buckthorn — Karwinskia humboldtiana and other species
- Burdock — Arctium species
- Buttercup — Ranunculus species
- Caladium — Caladium species
- Calla Lily — Zantedeschia aethiopica
- Catclaw Acacia — Acacia greggii (twigs and leaves)
- Castor Bean — Ricinus communis
- Cherry — Prunus species (pits, leaves, bark)
- Chinaberry — Melia azedarach
- Clematis — Clematis montana and related species
- Coral Plant — Jatropha multifida
- Crocus — Colchicum autumnale
- Cycad / Sago Palm — Cycas revoluta (all cycads should be considered poisonous)
- Daffodil — Narcissus tazetta
- Daphne — Daphne mezereum
- Death Camas — Zigadenus venenosus and related species
- Delphinium — Delphinium species
- Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane) — Dieffenbachia species
- Eggplant — Solanum melongena (unripe fruit, leaves)
- Elderberry — Sambucus mexicana
- Elephant’s Ears / Taro — Colocasia spp.
- Euonymus — Euonymus species
- European Pennyroyal — Mentha pulegium
- Four O’Clock — Mirabilis jalapa
- Heliotrope — Heliotropium spp. (leaves)
- Henbane — Hyoscyamus niger
- Holly — Ilex aquifolium and related spp. (leaves, berries)
- Horse Chestnut — Aesculus hippocastanum and related spp.
- Horse Nettle — Solanum carolinense
- Hyacinth — Hyacinthus orientalis
- Hydrangea — Hydrangea species
- Iris — Iris species
- Ivy (Boston, English, and some others) — Hedera species
- Jack-in-the-Pulpit — Arisaema species
- Jerusalem Cherry — Solanum pseudocapsicum and related species
- Jonquil — Narcissus jonquilla
- Juniper — Juniperus species
- Lantana — Lantana camara and related species
- Larkspur — Delphinium species
- Laurel — Kalmia species
- Lily-of-the-Valley — Convallaria majalis
- Lobelia — Lobelia species
- Locoweed — Astragalus species and Oxytropis species
- Lupine — Lupinus species
- Marijuana — Cannabis sativa
- Milkweed — Asclepias species
- Mistletoe — Phoradendron villosum
- Mock Orange — Philadelphus species
- Moonseed — Menispermum canadense
- Monkshood — Aconitum species
- Morning Glory — Ipomoea violacea (seeds)
- Mushrooms — Amanita species and many others
- Narcissus — Narcissus species
- Oak — Quercus species
- Oleander — Nerium oleander
- Peach — Prunus persica (leaves, pit, bark)
- Pear — Pyrus spp. (leaves, seeds, bark)
- Peony — Paeonia officinalis
- Periwinkle — Vinca minor, Vinca rosea
- Peyote — Lophophora williamsii
- Philodendron — Philodendron species
- Plum — Prunus spp. (leaves, pit, bark)
- Poison Hemlock — Conium maculatum
- Poison Ivy — Toxicodendron radicans
- Poison Oak — Toxicodendron diversilobum and T. quercifolium
- Poison Sumac — Rhus vernix
- Poinsettia — Euphorbia pulcherrima and all related species
- Pokeweed — Phytolacca americana
- Poppy — Papaver somniferum and related species
- Potato — Solanum tuberosum (sprouts, leaves, berries, green tubers)
- Primrose — Primula species
- Privet — Ligustrum vulgare
- Ragwort — Senecio jacobaea and related species
- Red Maple — Acer rubrum
- Rhododendron — Rhododendron species
- Rhubarb — Rheum rhabarbarum (leaves)
- Rosary Pea — Abrus precatorius
- Sage — Salvia officinalis
- Shamrock Plant — Medicago lupulina, Trifolium repens, Oxalis acetosella
- Skunk Cabbage — Symplocarpus foetidus
- Snowdrop — Galanthus nivalis
- Sorrel — Rumex species, Oxalis species
- Spurges — Euphorbia species
- Star of Bethlehem — Ornithogalum umbellatum
- Sweet Pea — Lathyrus odoratus
- Tobacco — Nicotiana spp.
- Tomato — Lycopersicon esculentum (stems and leaves)
- Tulip — Tulipa spp.
- Vetches — Vicia spp.
- Virginia Creeper — Parthenocissus quinquefolia
- Water Hemlock — Cicuta spp.
- Waxberry — Symphoricarpos albus
- Wisteria — Wisteria spp.
- Yew — Taxus spp.
