# toxic or poison plants list



## Crazy1

Mind you not all torts are created equal this is a list from combined sites through out the internet and listed as such. Please understand some plants on this list may not be toxic to all torts such as Black or Brown mountain torts. This list is for your information only and to help ou identify what should and should not be fed to most tortoises.
This is a work in progress. 

The following list (compiled by the Tortoise trust) are plants which could cause harm. The ones marked with a + have been known to cause death, so should be completely avoided.
Any ornamental bulbs+, Acokanthera, Aconite (monks hood), Amaryllis, Amsinckia (tarwwed), Anemone, Avocado (leaves), Azalea, Baneberry+, Beach pea, Betal nut palm, Bellaonna+, Bittersweet, Bird of paradise, Black locust, Bleeding heat, Bloodroot, Bluebonnet, Bottlebrush, Boxwood
Buckeye horse chestnut+, Buttercup, Caladium, Call lily, Cardinal Flower, Carolina jessamine, Casava, Castor bean, Chalice or trumpet vine, cherry - (seeds only), Cherry laurel, China berry tree, Christmas berry, Columbine, 
Christmas cactus (Euphorbia), Christmas rose, Common privet, Crocus+, 
Coral plant, Croton, Cyclamen, Daffodil+, Daphne, Death camus+,
Deadly nightshade+, Delphinium+, Destroying angel (death cap)+, Dogwwod+, Elderberry, Elephant ear (taro), English Ivy, False Hellebore, Fiddle neck, Fly agaric (amanita,deathcap)+, Four o'clock, Foxglove+, Gelsemium, Golden - chain, Hemlock+, Henbane+, Holly, Horse chestnut, Horsetail reed, Hyacinth, Hydrangea+, Impatiens, Iris, Ivy, Jack-in-the-puplit, Jasmine, Jatropha, Jerusalemcherry, Jessamine, Jimson weed (thorn apple)+, Johhnson- grass,wilted, Lambkill (sheep laurel)+, Lantana camara, Larkspur, Laurel, Lily of the valley+, Lobelia, Locoweed+, Locust, Lupin+, Machineel, May apple, Mescal+, Milk Weed, Misletoe+, Moccasin flower, Monkshood+, Moonseed, Morning glory, Mountain laurel, Narcissus, Natal cherry, Nectarine (seed only), Nicotine tree/bush -flowering, nightshades, Oak, Oleander, Pear seeds, Pennyroyal, Peony, Periwinkle, Philodendrons, Pinks, Plum seeds, Poinsettia, Poison hemlock+, Poison ivy+, Poison oak+,
poison sumac+, Pokewood or Pokeberry, poppy, Potato (leaves), Privet, Redwood, Rhubarb (leaves), Rhododendron+, Rosemary, Russian thistle,
Sage, Salmonberry, Scarlet pimpernel, Scotch broom, Senecio, Skunk cabbage, Snapdragon, Spanish bayonet, Squirrel corn, Sudan grass, Star of Bethlehem, Sundew, Sweetpea, Tansy, Tarweed, Tiger Lily, Toad flax, Toyon berry, Tree of Heaven, Trillium, Trumpet vine, Venus flytrap, Verbena, Virginia creeper, Water hemlock+, Wild parsnip, Wisteria, Yellow star thistle, Yew+.
I know this list can list can look daunting, so the best thing to do it make sure that you are not feeding a toxic plant to your torts.


Acknowledgments:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/webdiet.htm


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## Yvonne G

Here in the Central Valley of California, we plant Virginia Creeper on purpose. The desert tortoises love it and eat the vine to the ground.

Robyn: I think you hiccoughed in the middle of your post. There is a sentence after the first list with no ending...then the list repeats.

Thank you so much for compiling this list. When you are finished with it I think it would be a good idea to sticky the thread, then close it so additional postings don't detract from the list.

Yvonne


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## Crazy1

Thanks Yvonne. I've fixed it. Opps it was the exact same list from two different sites. Guess it's time for me to take a break, and come back to this later. 

If others have stuff to add please feel free to post so it can all get added to a list to be stickied. Those that are questionable like the Virginia Creeper We'll try and do more research on. May be safe for some torts and not others or may have made the wrong list or the list I copied it from was outdated.
What format do you all prefer? listed like it is or in a long list by alphabetical order? or does it make a difference?

Yvonne can you and anyone who has Brown or black mountain torts list some of the things they can eat that are toxic to other torts so I can place it on the list to id those torts that it is not toxic too.


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## Crazy1

*Virginia Creeper*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_quinquefolia
The flowers are small and greenish, produced in clusters in late spring, and mature in late summer or early fall into small hard purplish-black berries 5 to 7 mm diameter. These berries contain oxalic acid, which is poisonous to humans and other mammals, and may be fatal if eaten. However, accidental poisoning is uncommon, likely because of the bad taste of the berries. Despite being poisonous to mammals, they provide an important winter food source for birds. Oxalate crystals are also contained in the sap, and can cause irritation and skin rash.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Parthqu.htm

http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSea...nquefolia&mode=sciname&submit.x=12&submit.y=8

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/Plantox/Detail.CFM?ID=28740

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/Plantox/Detail.CFM?ID=3207

http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=2383

*List of chemicals;* 

Chemical..........................Part........Hi 
..................................................ppm 

OXALIC-ACID.....................Fruit......20,000
ANTHOCYANIDIN................Leaf 
ANTHOCYANIN...................Leaf 
CALCIUM-GLYCOLATE.........Leaf
CALCIUM-TARTRATE...........Fruit
CISSOTANNIC-ACID............Leaf
GLYCOLIC-ACID.................Fruit
LEUCOANTHOCYANIDIN.......Leaf
MUCILAGE........................plant
POTASSIUM-TARTRATE......Fruit
PYROCATECHIN.................Leaf
SODIUM-TARTRATE............Fruit
TANNIC-ACID....................Leaf
TARTARIC-ACID.................Fruit


In researching Virginia Creeper it is also known as American-ivy, five-leaf-ivy & woodbine, this is what I have come up with.


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## Isa

Thank you so much for sharing this with us Robyn, it is very helpful!


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## Stephanie Logan

Thanks for the list of dangerous plants! I have several gardens that Taco roams in, and one is full of impatiens while another has extensive morning glory vines. I also have Virginia creeper. Now, here's my question: I have noticed that Taco never eats any of these plants and completely avoids the impatiens bed. Will a tortoise intentionally eat a toxic plant or does some instinct tell them what to avoid? Does a hungry tortoise simply eat whatever is around that "tastes good"? The only garden plant Taco eats is iceplant.


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## Crazy1

Stephanie, it is said by some that a tort will not eat what is not good for them. Others say a captive tortoise will. 
I have heard both. Some torts that are outside a lot may only eat what is good for them and avoid the others. But I have heard of some that have eaten toxic plants and been fine and others have gotten sick all while grazing outside. The Answer to your question is not an easy clear cut one. A taste may not make a tortoise ill but eating a bunch of a toxic plant could be fatal. I usually take the stance that if it's toxic I keep my torts away from it. Better safe than sorry. thats JMHO.


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## Yvonne G

I've never seen berries on my Virginia Creeper. Probably because the tortoises eat it before it gets to that point. LOL.

My Manouria eat EVERYTHING!! Iris, including the bulb (they dig them up), the whole banana tree, alocasia & colocasia (elephant ear), euphorbia...that's all I can think of for now that are considered toxic.

Yvonne


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## Stazz

Wow thanks for all the info ladies, love learning all these new things for T, what not to do and what can be done


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## Yvonne G

I have heard that wild tortoises eat toxic plants occasionally in order to help keep the parasites under control.

Yvonne


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## Crazy1

I've heard that too. Just some CB don't seem to know when to stop.


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## marksonamor

Poison plant list:
1. ACOKANTHERA, fruit and flowers.
2. BEACH PEA, Lathyrus manumus.
3. CASAVA, roots.
4. DELPHINIUM, (Larkspur annual), all parts.
5. HOLLY, leaves and berries.


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