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.

Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa), a tropical climbing aroid with thick stems, cordlike aerial roots, and enormous glossy heart-shaped green leaves divided by deep splits and natural oval holes.

Swiss Cheese Plant

Monstera deliciosa Liebm.
Araceae
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Tall Buttercup, Ranunculus acris, an upright perennial with glossy yellow flowers and fresh sap that releases the blistering irritant protoanemonin

Tall Buttercup

Ranunculus acris L.
Ranunculaceae
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Taro vine or golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum), a trailing and climbing houseplant with glossy heart-shaped green leaves irregularly marbled and streaked with yellow.

Taro Vine

Epipremnum aureum (Linden & André) G.S.Bunting
Araceae
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Taro (Colocasia esculenta), a clumping tropical plant with enormous heart- to shield-shaped green leaves held on thick upright petioles, with the leaf stalk attached beneath the blade away from the basal notch.

Taro

Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott
Araceae
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Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa) with upright cane-like stems and spiraling clusters of broad lance-shaped leaves patterned in green, burgundy, red, pink, and cream.

Ti-Plant

Cordyline fruticosa (L.) A.Chev.
Asparagaceae
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Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium) with tall upright leafy stems, dark bulbils in the leaf axils, and downward-facing bright orange flowers whose strongly recurved tepals are covered with dark purple-black spots.

Tiger Lily

Lilium lancifolium Thunb.
Liliaceae
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Cultivated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), a tall broad-leaved plant with sticky green stems, large oval leaves that partly clasp the stem, and terminal clusters of tubular pink flowers.

Tobacco

Nicotiana tabacum L.
Solanaceae
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Tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum) with hairy branching green stems, irregularly divided aromatic leaves, clusters of small yellow star-shaped flowers, and green and ripening red tomatoes.

Tomato Plant

Solanum lycopersicum L.
Solanaceae
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Mature Tree Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum) with a thick ring-scarred trunk, numerous aerial roots, and a broad crown of enormous glossy green leaves divided into many deep wavy lobes.

Tree Philodendron

Philodendron bipinnatifidum Schott ex Endl.
Araceae — Arum Family
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Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca), a tall open woody shrub with smooth blue-green rubbery leaves on distinct stalks and terminal clusters of long narrow yellow tubular flowers.

Tree Tobacco

Nicotiana glauca Graham
Solanaceae — Nightshade or Potato Family
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Tropic Snow dumb cane (Dieffenbachia seguine ‘Tropic Snow’) with thick upright cane-like stems and large spreading dark-green leaves marked by creamy-white and pale-yellow feathered variegation along the veins and central leaf area.

Tropic Snow

Dieffenbachia seguine (Jacq.) Schott ‘Tropic Snow’
Araceae — Arum Family
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An aloe vera plant with thick, fleshy, grayish-green leaves that curve upward in a rosette pattern. The spear-shaped leaves feature small, sharp, pale teeth along their edges and a smooth, matte surface.

True Aloe

Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f.
Asphodelaceae — Asphodel Family
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Trumpet Lily or White Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) growing in a dense clump of glossy dark-green arrow-shaped leaves with tall white funnel-shaped spathes surrounding upright yellow spadices.

Trumpet Lily

Zantedeschia aethiopica (L.) Spreng.
Araceae — Arum or Aroid Family
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Garden tulips (Tulipa species and hybrids) with smooth upright stems, broad waxy blue-green leaves, large cup-shaped six-tepaled flowers, and rounded underground bulbs enclosed in brown papery tunics.

Tulip

Tulipa spp. and hybrids
Liliaceae
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Umbrella leaf or mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) growing in a woodland colony with erect stems, one or two large umbrella-shaped deeply lobed leaves, a single nodding white flower hidden beneath paired leaves, and an oval green fruit that ripens golden yellow.

Umbrella Leaf

Podophyllum peltatum L.
Berberidaceae — Barberry Family
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Umbrella tree or octopus tree (Heptapleurum actinophyllum) with multiple upright trunks, large glossy palmately compound leaves whose long leaflets radiate like umbrella spokes, and long red flower spikes spreading from the crown like octopus tentacles.

Umbrella Tree

Heptapleurum actinophyllum (Endl.) Lowry & G.M.Plunkett
Araliaceae
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Variable Dieffenbachia or handsome dumb cane (Dieffenbachia seguine, formerly Dieffenbachia picta) with a thick upright cane-like stem and large glossy oval leaves irregularly mottled, spotted, or brushed with cream, pale yellow, white, and multiple shades of green.

Variable Dieffenbachia

Dieffenbachia seguine (Jacq.) Schott
Araceae — Arum or Aroid Family
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Variegated climbing philodendron sold as Philodendron imbe, with elongated arrow-shaped green leaves irregularly streaked or marbled with cream, pale yellow, and white along a climbing stem with aerial roots.

Variegated Philodendron

Philodendron imbe Schott ex Kunth
Araceae
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Purple viper’s bugloss (Echium plantagineum) with a basal rosette of broad, prominently veined, hairy leaves, erect bristly branching stems, and curved clusters of purple funnel-shaped flowers with protruding stamens

Viper's Bugloss

Echium plantagineum L.
Boraginaceae — Borage Family
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Virgin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana), a climbing native vine with opposite compound leaves divided into three coarsely toothed leaflets, branching clusters of small white four-sepaled flowers, and fluffy silver-gray seed heads with long feathery styles.

Virgin's Bower

Clematis spp.
Ranunculaceae
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Western Wahoo (Euonymus occidentalis), a straggling deciduous woodland shrub with opposite finely toothed pointed leaves, small mottled greenish-purple five-petaled flowers, and three-lobed reddish fruit capsules opening to expose seeds covered by bright reddish-orange arils.

Wahoo

Euonymus occidentalis Nutt. ex Torr.
Celastraceae
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Wake Robin (Arum maculatum L.) shown for identification in the PAWS pet plant safety guide.

Wake Robin

Arum maculatum L.
Araceae — Arum or Aroid Family
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Warneckei Dracaena (Dracaena fragrans ‘Warneckei’) with upright ringed cane-like stems and rosettes of narrow arching gray-green leaves marked by parallel white and pale-green stripes along the margins.

Warneckei Dracaena

Dracaena fragrans (Deremensis Group) ‘Warneckei’
Asparagaceae
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Water dropwort (Oenanthe species) growing at a wet ditch margin with hollow upright stems, divided celery-like green leaves, and compound umbrella-shaped clusters of small white flowers.

Water dropwort

Oenanthe spp., especially Oenanthe crocata L.
Apiaceae — Carrot, Parsley, Celery, or Umbellifer Family
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