Native Plants

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Monday - July 20, 2009

From: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Region: California
Topic: Poisonous Plants
Title: Is carrotwood poisonous to Boston Terrier in Rancho Cucamonga CA?
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

My Boston Terrier always goes to our carrotwood tree and licks the base. He gets so excited that he drools all over the place? Why does this tree cause this reaction in our dog? Is it poisonous to him?

ANSWER:

The carrotwood tree has recently come to our attention. We really don't know much about it because it is non-native to North America. Here is an excerpt from a recent answer to a question about the tree:

"You don't need a spray, you need a hatchet. Quick, quick, get that tree out of your landscape and your life. Those nut-like pods are seeds, incredibly messy, as you already know, and they are being eaten by birds, who then sow them wherever, they will lie on the ground and kill your grass, and the tree itself is an invasive weed. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, we are devoted to promoting plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. This plant is the poster child for invasive non-natives. It originated in Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea. We suggest that while you wait for the bulldozer to arrive, you read the following articles about places, including California, where it is already a menace.

Plant Conservation Allliance Alien Plant Working Group Least Wanted Cupaniopsis anacardioides

Texas Invasives cupaniopsis anacardioides

Los Angeles Times Tree of the Week: Carrotwood Tree"

We would suggest you search the following databases on plants poisonous to dogs, using the Latin name, Cupaniopsis anacardioides, to search on:

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