From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2001-05-26 14:59:00 UTC
Subject: poisonous plants
Here is a little bit on common plants that are poisonous from
_Handbook of Poisoning_ (Doesn't that sound like something used by
Boris and Natasha?), 11 edition, by Dreisbach, pg. 541-556 (Ferrets
may differ in being affected by some things.): akee, castor bean and
jequirity bean, fava beans if favaism present, hemlock, an assortment
of fungi, arum (includes dieffenbachia, caladium, alocasia,
colocasia, philodendron, and arisaema with all parts dangerous as
well), calla lily, elephant ear, jack in the pulpit, other arum family
members, oleander, poke weed, rhubarb leaves, nightshade, jerusalem cherry,
green potato sprouts, some other solanaceae members, yew, croton oil,
foxglove, henbane, jimsonweed, larkspur, meadow saffron, colchicum,
monkshood, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, false hellebore,
baneberry, betelnut seeds, bird of paradise seed pods, bleeding
heart, bloodroot, boxwood leaves and twigs, buckeye seed,
horsechestnut seed, burning bush fruit and leaves, spindle
tree fruit and leaves, calabar bean, celedine, cherry seed and leaves
(another source includes the bark), china berry fruit and leaves,
chrysanthemum (though I know there is a Chinese variety used for food and my
favorite tea, the source says there is a resin which can cause dermatitis),
corn cockle seeds, crowfoot, christmas rose, marsh marigold, buttercups and
other ranunculus, daffodil bulbs, daphne, finger cherry fruit, glory lily,
elderberry, holly berries, hyacinth bulbs, hydrangea, indian tobacco
(lobelia), iris roots, jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) (The
flowers of some J. sambac related varieties are considered culinary
and used in teas, but others pose a problem), jetberry berries, jute
stem, laburnum, golden chain, kentucky coffee bean, lantana, laurel,
lily of the valley, locust seeds, lupin, lupine, manchineel, mango
fruit skin and tree sap, mexican poppy leaves and seeds, mistletoe,
moonseed fruit, nutmeg seeds (? Don't ask me?), physic nut seed,
poinsettia (though this is mild compared with some of the others --
basically gastroenteritis or dermatitis), primrose, privet, rayless
goldenrod, snakeroot, rhododenron, sweet pea, tung nut seed,
wisteria, yellow oleander.
There, now folks wondering about their plants can look them up. Whew!
Oh, and do remember that there can be individual differences, too. A
plant that is good for someone and well loved may be bad for a
different ferret/person who has a certain medical problem, or is
taking a certain medication, or has an allergy, or... (Yes,
sometimes favorite things have to be given up in life if the wrong
thing happens.)
This is NOT a full list but does go through the
DO note that the types of reaction noted here range from skin rashes,
to things that need to be great quantity to cause harm, to ones that
can cause lasting damage or death. I figure that people can continue
their own private research into the ones that are of personal
interest.