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.
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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.
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Friday - June 20, 2014
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification, Poisonous Plants
Title: Identification of possible toxic plant in Austin, TX
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
When we hike with our dogs along Turkey Creek in Austin, they seem to make a bee line to a small green leafy plant when they find it along the trail and eat a few leaves of it. We assume it's not dangerous for them to eat a little, but we don't know what it is. Also, it seems to us that they get a little foamy around their mouths after eating it (though maybe it's just them getting excited about the walk!). I have a photo of it, but I don't know how to upload it. Thank you!ANSWER:
We no longer accept photos for identification. It was fun to do, but it took an inordinate of our time. I’m going to suggest that you go to our Identification Page and scroll down to the Plant Identification box. There are several forums listed there where you can send images for identification.Pay careful attention to the Important Notes for sending images.
Once you have the plant identified, check through these database to see if it is listed there
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University's Plants Poisonous to Livestock
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
University of Illinois' Plants Toxic to Animals
University of Pennsylvania's Poisonous Plants database
Plants of Texas Rangelands – Toxics
The fact that a plant doesn't appear on a toxic plant database doesn't guarantee that the plant is completely non-toxic. Have you also checked with your veterinarian?
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