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
2 ratings

Wednesday - January 20, 2010

From: Las Vegas, NV
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Trees that aren't poisonous or don't have poisonous berries for dogs
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What trees are not poisonous or have poison berries for dogs?

ANSWER:

It is easier to make a list of trees that ARE poisonous or that HAVE poisonous berries than it is to find non-toxic ones since the non-toxic ones prevail. I suspect you are looking for a tree to plant in your yard that won't be harmful to your dog.  If that is so, I suggest you go to our Nevada Recommended species to find trees that are native to Nevada that are recommended for landscaping and are commercially available.   After you've found ones that you like, you can check them against several poisonous plant databases such as:

Poisonous Plants of North Carolina, Cornell University's Plants Poisonous to Livestock, the Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System, the University of Pennsylvania's Poisonous Plants, Toxic Plants from University of California-Davis and Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List—Dogs from the ASPCA.

For instance, if you like Abies concolor (white fir), you will find that it doesn't appear on any of the toxic plant lists above. Actaea rubra (red baneberry), however, is on the Poisonous Plants of North Carolina database and Cornell's Plants Poisonous to Livestock, but not any of the others and it appears to be mildly poisonous.  Prunus virginiana (chokecherry) (or, at least Prunus sp., which includes peaches, plums, apricots and cherries) appears on all the above lists and is characterized as having major toxicity. So, the lesson here is that you probably should check more than one poisonous plants database.  Not finding a plant in one of the databases doesn't necessarily mean it has no toxic qualities, but it makes it less likely that it is seriously poisonous. However, finding a plant in all, or the majority, of the above, databases is a pretty good indication that the plant is seriously toxic and shouldn't be where it can be accessed by your pets or small, unsupervised children.

(Please note that the ASPCA's list is arranged by common names which are quite variable and therefore not easy to search.  The scientific names are there, although not as easily searched in the ASPCA's list, but are the most reliable name to use to find a plant in any database.)


 

More Trees Questions

Will a gift yucca survive in Northwest Arkansas?
June 28, 2011 - Had received a yucca tree as a gift and wondering if it will survive in the ground here in northwest Arkansas. It has a complete tropical look compared to my regular yucca plants. I believe it's actu...
view the full question and answer

Native plants for city lot in Longview, TX
March 19, 2008 - Just bought a city lot in Longview, TX and want to put in some plants at the periphery even before the house is built. Can you recommend any that would be from your list of East TX plants that are pa...
view the full question and answer

Difficulty of watering at drip line of trees from The Woodlands TX
August 18, 2011 - I'm watering my couple dozen native mature trees to make sure they survive this drought and its aftermath..and I'm reading about how to water at the drip line. But..all of my trees' drip lines ext...
view the full question and answer

Tan, rough, fan-shaped growth on mountain laurels
July 01, 2014 - A tan rough fan-shaped "something" is growing at the end of the mountain laurel branch where the flowers would be .. what is it and can it harm the plant?
view the full question and answer

Transplant shock in tulip tree in Cincinnati
October 02, 2009 - I planted a tulip tree sapling (3 feet tall at the time of planting) in May of this year and it sprouted! Unfortunately, I believe the top portion (nearly 2 feet) did not make it (the sapling only spr...
view the full question and answer

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