US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine
ENTOMOLOGY PROGRAMS
GUIDE TO POISONOUS AND TOXIC PLANTS
(I am looking for good color pictures for these plants. If you
have any, or know where I can get any, please drop me a note! Thanks!
chppm-dodpesticidehotline@amedd.army.mil
CONTENTS
· WILD PLANTS (See the Index)
POISON CONTROL CENTER PHONE NUMBERS
INDEX
This index provides an alphabetical listing of all the plants. Owing to the size of the index, it has been split into two sections. Those plants beginning with the letters A-K are listed here and those beginning with the letters L-Z are listed here.
USAEHA TECHNICAL GUIDE NO. 196
GUIDE TO POISONOUS AND TOXIC PLANTS
INTRODUCTION
Purpose
This
technical guide (TG) supplements Army Regulation (AR) 608-10, Child Development Services. Appendix C of AR 608-10 provides a list
of toxic plants which are not permitted either
indoors or outdoors of the Child Development Center. The list contains no descriptions of
the plants, no distribution information, and no indication as to what part of
the plant is poisonous. This TG provides pictures, common
names, descriptions, toxic parts of the plants,
symptoms
of poisoning and distribution maps of those plants normally found in the wild.
Many
of the names of the poisonous and toxic plants are underlined. These underlined names reflect
those names which are listed in AR 608-10. There are several plants listed in AR 608-10
for which we can find no evidence of toxicity. These are Arrowhead, Betel Nut Palm, Periwinkle,
and Primrose. In addition, we have
added some plants not listed in AR 608-10 which
might reasonably be found on or near Child Development Centers. These include:
Baneberry
Buttercup Candelabra Cactus
Cowslip
Coyotillo Golden Chain
Magnolia
Poinsettia Poison Hemlock
Pokeweed
Potato Skunk
Cabbage
Snow-on-the-Mountain
We
have arranged the plants in categories based on the location in which they may
be found. These
categories are House Plants, Garden Plants, Ornamental Plants and Wild
Plants. In some
instances, certain plants are found in more than one location. For these, we have placed the
plant in the category where it is most likely to be found. However, the index provides both
common names and scientific names for all of the plants and the page on which
their
description
is found. This guide is presently
limited to plants found in the continental U.S. (CONUS). However, locations outside the
continental U.S. (OCONUS), including Hawaii and
Alaska, may have these and other poisonous plants.
All
of the distribution maps in this TG were generated from distribution descriptions
in the references. Because of the vagueness of some of
these descriptions, the maps may not be entirely
accurate. Therefore, if there is
any question concerning whether or not a particular plant
may or may not be located in your area or whether a particular plant may or may
not be poisonous,
it is best to obtain local professional assistance. If a questionable plant is not included
in this TG, its exclusion does not imply safety.
We
recommend CONUS distribution of this guide to Directors, Personnel and
Community Activities;
Directors, Directorate of Engineering and Housing; and Preventive Medicine Services
and Units.
Acknowledgements
The following illustrations were used with permission from the AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants, copyright 1985, American Medical Association.
Aloe vera
Brugmansia X candida
Cypripedium
Kalmia latifolia
Karwinskia humboldtiana
Taxus species
Zantedeschia aethiopica
REFERENCES
AR 608-10, Child Development Services, 12 February 1990
Kingsbury, J.M., 1964. Poisonous Plants of the United States and Canada, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Lampe, K.F., 1981. Common Poisonous and Injurious Plants, U.S. Department of Health, and Human Services, Washington, DC.
Lampe, K.F. and M.A. McCann, 1985. AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL.
Schmutz, E.M. and L.B. Hamilton, 1979. Plants That Poison, Northland Publishing, Flagstaff, AZ.
Spoerke, D.G. and S.C. Smolinske, 1990. Toxicity of Houseplants, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
POISON CONTROL CENTER PHONE NUMBERS
The following telephone numbers are provided for Regional Poison Control Centers as points of
contact in the event of an emergency dealing with toxic plants.
Click here for a list of National Poison Control Centers
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