PAWS Pet Poison Reference Library

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants for Pets

PAWS was built to be one of the most detailed plant-safety references for pet owners, veterinarians, rescues, boarding facilities, and animal-care professionals. Browse 359 in-depth plant-safety guides for dogs, cats, horses, livestock, rabbits, birds, reptiles, and other animals. Each guide is built as a practical pet-poison reference, with plant identification, scientific names, toxic compounds, poisoning symptoms, first aid, veterinary treatment, prognosis, prevention, and research citations.

Sheepkill or Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia, growing as a dense evergreen shrub with glossy leathery oval leaves and rounded clusters of pale pink to white five-sided cup-shaped flowers marked with dark rose dots and hooked stamens.

Sheepkill

Kalmia latifolia L.
Ericaceae — Heath or Heather Family
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Showy daisy (Erigeron speciosus), a clumping perennial with upright leafy stems, narrow lance-shaped green leaves, and clusters of lavender-blue to pinkish or white ray florets surrounding yellow disk centers

Showy Daisy

Erigeron speciosus (Lindl.) DC.
Asteraceae
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Showy Fleabane, Erigeron speciosus, a western North American perennial with clusters of narrow blue-violet daisy-like rays surrounding yellow flower centers

Showy Fleabane

Erigeron speciosus (Lindl.) DC.
Asteraceae
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Eastern Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, growing in a wet woodland with large deeply ribbed heart-shaped green leaves and a mottled maroon-and-green hood-shaped spathe surrounding a short flower-covered spadix near the ground.

Skunk Cabbage

Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Salisb. ex W.P.C.Barton
Araceae — Arum Family
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Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) growing as a rounded woodland shrub with opposite toothed green leaves and broad creamy-white flower clusters containing small fertile flowers and larger showy sterile florets.

Smooth Hydrangea

Hydrangea arborescens L.
Hydrangeaceae — Hydrangea Family
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Snake Plant, Dracaena trifasciata, formerly Sansevieria trifasciata, growing as a dense clump of stiff upright sword-shaped leaves with dark green and pale gray-green horizontal banding.

Snake Plant

Dracaena trifasciata (Prain) Mabb.
Asparagaceae
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Solomon’s Lily or Black Calla, Arum palaestinum, with upright arrow-shaped green leaves and a dark purplish-black spadix enclosed by a velvety maroon-black spathe with a pale green outer surface.

Solomon's Lily

Arum palaestinum Boiss.
Araceae — Arum Family
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Eastern wahoo or spindle tree (Euonymus atropurpureus), a deciduous shrub with opposite finely serrated elliptical leaves, small maroon-purple flowers, and four-lobed pink capsules opening to reveal scarlet-orange seed coverings.

Spindle Tree

Euonymus atropurpureus Jacq.
Celastraceae
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Split leaf philodendron or saddle leaf (Philodendron bipennifolium), a climbing tropical aroid with thick stems, aerial roots, and large glossy olive-green leaves shaped like a horse’s head, violin, or saddle.

Split Leaf Philodendron

Philodendron bipennifolium Schott
Araceae
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Spotted dumb cane (Dieffenbachia seguine) with a thick upright cane-like stem and large glossy oblong leaves patterned with irregular cream, white, and pale green blotches.

Spotted Dumb Cane

Dieffenbachia seguine (Jacq.) Schott
Araceae
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Sprenger asparagus fern (Asparagus aethiopicus ‘Sprengeri’) with long arching green stems, dense clusters of narrow needle-like cladodes, small pale flowers, sharp stem projections, and round berries ripening from green to bright red.

Sprenger Asparagus Fern

Asparagus aethiopicus L. ‘Sprengeri’
Asparagaceae — Asparagus Family
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Garden parsley (Petroselinum crispum), a bright green biennial herb with dense curly or flat divided leaves and second-year flowering stems topped by small greenish-yellow compound umbels.

Spring Parsley

Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss
Apiaceae
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Staggerbush, Lyonia mariana, growing as an upright deciduous shrub with simple leathery green leaves, reddish flower buds, hanging clusters of white to pale pink tubular flowers, and small dry brown capsules.

Staggerbush

Lyonia mariana (L.) D.Don
Ericaceae — Heath or Heather Family
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Starch root or lords-and-ladies (Arum maculatum), a woodland aroid with glossy arrow-shaped leaves, a pale green hood-like spathe surrounding a purple-brown spadix, and a later upright spike of tightly clustered scarlet berries.

Starch Root

Arum maculatum L.
Araceae
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Stargazer lily (Lilium ‘Stargazer’) with large fragrant upward-facing pink flowers, white ruffled margins, deep crimson midribs, dark speckles, prominent orange-brown anthers, and narrow green leaves.

Stargazer Lily

Lilium ‘Stargazer’
Liliaceae
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Starleaf or Australian umbrella tree (Heptapleurum actinophyllum), a tropical multistemmed tree with large glossy palmately compound leaves and long radiating spikes of small red flowers resembling an octopus.

Starleaf

Heptapleurum actinophyllum (Endl.) Lowry & G.M.Plunkett
Araliaceae
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Stinking chamomile or mayweed (Anthemis cotula), a bushy annual with finely divided fernlike leaves and small white daisy flowers surrounding raised yellow centers.

Stinking Chamomile

Anthemis cotula L.
Asteraceae
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Straight-margined dracaena or Madagascar dragon tree with slender tan canes and dense rosettes of long, narrow, arching green leaves edged in dark red.

Straight-Margined Dracaena

Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia Baker
Asparagaceae
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Close-up of String of Pearls, Curio rowleyanus, showing densely clustered round green succulent leaves with narrow translucent stripes and several upright flower buds on slender stalks.

String of Pearls

Curio rowleyanus (H.Jacobsen) P.V.Heath
Asteraceae — Aster, Daisy, Sunflower, or Composite Family; tribe Senecioneae
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Striped dracaena (Dracaena fragrans ‘Warneckii’) with upright cane-like stems and dense rosettes of long arching gray-green leaves marked with lengthwise white, cream, and pale green stripes.

Striped Dracaena

Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl. ‘Warneckii’
Asparagaceae
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Swamp maple or red maple (Acer rubrum) with opposite three- to five-lobed serrated leaves, red leaf stalks and veins, pale leaf undersides, reddish twigs, and red-orange autumn foliage.

Swamp Maple

Acer rubrum L.
Sapindaceae
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Sweet pea or everlasting pea (Lathyrus latifolius), a vigorous perennial climbing vine with broad winged stems, paired blue-green leaflets, curling tendrils, clusters of unscented pink pea-shaped flowers, and flattened seedpods.

Sweet Pea

Lathyrus latifolius L.
Fabaceae
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Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) with dense clusters of small burgundy, pink, and white patterned flowers with fringed petals above narrow green leaves.

Sweet William

Dianthus barbatus L.
Caryophyllaceae
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Sweetheart ivy (Hedera helix), an evergreen trailing or climbing vine with small glossy dark-green heart-shaped to shallowly lobed leaves and fine aerial rootlets along the stems.

Sweetheart Ivy

Hedera helix L.
Araliaceae
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