Native Plants

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Sunday - May 31, 2009

From: Ashtabula, OH
Region: Midwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Are white pine trees toxic to horses?
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Are white pine trees toxic to horses?

ANSWER:

A quick search through the poisonous plant databases listed below found only pine tree species, Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine), on any of the lists. None of the pines with the common name that includes 'white pine' (see below) was on any of the lists so I think we can assume that white pine will not be dangerous for your horses. You might keep these databases in mind for any other plants you are concerned about for your horses—or yourself.

WHITE PINES:

Pinus strobus (eastern white pine) has a distribution that includes Ohio.

Pinus monticola (western white pine) has a distribution limitied to western North America.

Pinus strobiformis (southwestern white pine) has a distribution in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.

POISONOUS PLANT DATABASES:

Poisonous Plants of North Carolina

Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock

Toxic Plants of Texas

University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants

Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System

SPECIFIC TO HORSES:

10 Most Poisonous Plants for Horses from EquiSearch.com