Native Plants
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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - June 04, 2009
From: Indianapolis, IN
Region: Midwest
Topic: Poisonous Plants
Title: Is purple grass poisonous if eaten by a dog?
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Is purple grass poisonous if eaten by a dog?ANSWER:
Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific than just "purple grass". In our Native Plant Database Mr. Smarty Plants found 6 different grasses that had a common name that included the word "purple".Andropogon glaucopsis (purple bluestem)
Aristida purpurea (purple threeawn)
Calamagrostis purpurascens (purple reedgrass)
Eragrostis spectabilis (purple lovegrass)
Tridens flavus (purpletop tridens)
Triplasis purpurea (purple sandgrass)
Then there are non-native ornamental purple grasses, for example, Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' (Purple Fountain Grass) and there are probaby more non-native ornamental purple grasses.
If your purple grass happens to be one of the 7 species above, then I can tell you that it doesn't appear in any of the following toxic plant databases:
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock
University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
ASPCA list of Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants for Dogs
If one of the 7 species above is not the grass your dog has eaten, then you can google "purple grass" to see if you can find another species that it might be. If you find one, you can check for its scientific name in the toxic plant databases listed above.
More Poisonous Plants Questions
Is horseherb toxic to chickens in Austin, TX?
November 05, 2012 - My yard is almost completely horseherb (straggler daisy, calyptocarpus vialis) and I am hoping you can tell me if this is safe for chickens to eat? As common as it is here, there is nothing I could fi...
view the full question and answer
Trees poisonous to horses from Landrum SC
April 15, 2012 - Please tell me if the following trees are poisonous to horses:
hickory, beech, poplar, and redbud.
Thank you very much.
view the full question and answer
Fast-growing non-invasive shrub for privacy fence in Sugar Land TX
December 06, 2011 - I live in South Texas in Sugar Land. I was going to plant oleanders in my backyard along the fence as a privacy hedge, about 20 feet from my house. However, I was told they were a bad choice becaus...
view the full question and answer
Is Nothoscordum bivalve (crow poison, false garlic) really poison
April 02, 2011 - Your Native Plants Database notes that False Garlic (aka, Crow Poison), Nothoscordum bivalve, is poisonous. Many other sites also state this, but I have been unable to find a reference giving specifi...
view the full question and answer
Groundcover for Orange County, Florida
April 14, 2012 - I live in Central FL (Winter Park)and I have a small, mostly sunny (no trees) backyard next to a large in-ground swimming pool which fills up with the leaves of my neighbor's oak trees. The backyard ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |