Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Wednesday - April 25, 2007
From: Venus, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Poisonous Plants
Title: Safety of Baccharis halimifolia (groundsel tree) for parrots
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Do you have any information on the possible toxicity of Baccharis halimifolia (Groundsel tree, sea myrtle) most especially the trunks/branches? We have it all over our property, and I'm curious if it would be safe to give to my parrots because they love to destroy wood, etc.ANSWER:
You can find several databases online that have lists of both safe plants and toxic plants for birds. Here are three:Baccharis halimifolia (eastern baccharis) doesn't appear on either the "safe" or the "toxic" lists on the databases listed above. You can Google the phrase "toxic plants birds" and find more lists. However, I think your best bet would be to pick something from one of "safe" lists to give your parrots rather than experiment with B. halimifolia.
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Thank you,
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