Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
5 ratings

Friday - December 04, 2015

From: Selah, WA
Region: Northwest
Topic: Poisonous Plants, Trees
Title: Non-toxic trees for cattle, horses and swine in Washington state.
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What non-toxic trees can be planted in cattle pastures in Central Washington? We also have horses and swine on the property.

ANSWER:

First of all, I suggest that you go to our list of Washington Recommended plants and use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option and choose "Tree" from the General Appearance slot. This will give you a list of 37 trees in Washington that should be commerically available.  Many of those, however, are toxic to livestock. Using the following databases for plants toxic to livestock I selected several from the Washington Recommend list that are NOT toxic to livestock that you could use in your pastures.

The trees on the list that you could consider for your pasture are:

Betula occidentalis (Mountain birch)

Betula papyrifera (Paper birch)

Chrysolepis chrysophylla var. chrysophylla (Giant chinkapin)  Here are photos and more information from Hansen's Northwest Plants Database.

Fraxinus latifolia (Oregon ash)  Here are photos and more information from Washington Native Plant Society.

Larix occidentalis (Western larch)  Here are photos and more information from Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (Black cottonwood)  Here are photos and more information from Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Populus tremuloides (Quaking aspen)

Umbellularia californica (California laurel)

 

From the Image Gallery


Water birch
Betula occidentalis

Paper birch
Betula papyrifera

Quaking aspen
Populus tremuloides

California laurel
Umbellularia californica

More Trees Questions

Hurricane resistant alternatives to crape myrtle
September 02, 2007 - Are there any native small to medium trees (15-25 ft) to use instead of crapemyrtles (Lagerstroemia indica)? Crapemyrtles come in many colors and bend with hurricane winds instead of snapping or uproo...
view the full question and answer

Non-native pomegranate failing to fruit from Highland Village TX
October 20, 2012 - Last spring I planted a pomegranate tree (type: Wonderful) which is supposed to produce edible fruit. It had 5 or 6 absolutely beautiful blooms, but each of them dropped off and no sign of fruit. Is...
view the full question and answer

Brownish-gold worm-looking things on loblolly pines
May 08, 2015 - We have a large loblolly pine that each spring drops thousands of brownish-gold "worm" looking things (about 1/2 to 1" long). Do they have a name and what is their purpose?
view the full question and answer

What to do with ailing live oak trees
May 04, 2010 - We live in far north San Antonio, TX on a 2 acre lot with many trees.. about 25% oak and 75% cedar. About 15% of our live oak trees have not sprouted leaves yet this spring, or have only sprouted leav...
view the full question and answer

Jelly made from local plums from Amarillo TX
July 29, 2011 - On Wednesday, August 5, 2009 you answered a question on native plants in the Austin area in which you wrote:"Two kinds of local plums have also been used to make jellies: Mexican Plum (Prunus mexican...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.