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Tuesday - October 26, 2010
From: Lake City, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Poisonous Plants
Title: Is Loropetalum poisonous to horses in Lake City FL?
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
Is loropetalum poisonous to horses? I know it is a member of the witch hazel family but cannot find a definitive answer about loropetalum itself. Thank you!ANSWER:
Whenever we get questions about poisonous plants, we usually go to the databases listed below.
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock
University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
Toxic Plants: Horses from the ASPCA
Poisonous Range Plants of Temperate North America
I've looked through these databases and do not find the genus Loropetalum listed. There are at least two possible reasons for this: one is that it may not be a poisonous plant. The other could be that since it is a non-native (introduced from Japan and Southern China ), the databases don't list it. I did find this link from Justanswer.com, but like you said, it is not very definitive. I'm including two links from Floridata for your information; one on Loropetalum, and the other on Witch hazel.
I'm going to suggest that you contact the folks at the Columbia County Office of UF/IFAS Extension for some help closer to home.
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