Native Plants
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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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Sunday - October 27, 2013
From: Leonardtown, MD
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Poisonous Plants, Trees
Title: Are bald cypress cones toxic to dogs?
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Are bald cypress tree seed pods poisonous? to dogs? We just got a rescue dog and we go out in the yard with her. But now that we are into fall and the pods are falling. She goes right to them. Are they poisonous?ANSWER:
Taxodium distichum (Bald cypress) is not found on the ASPCA's Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List – Dogs. Neither is it found on any of the following "toxic plants" databases:
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. However, with a plant so widespread and well-known as bald cypress, the fact that it is not named as being even mildly toxic is a very good sign. However, if you are concerned for your dog, you could pick up as many of the cones as possible and discard them.
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