Poisonous & Toxic Species
Never touch, taste, or consume any species you cannot positively identify. This guide is for educational purposes only. When in doubt, consult a local expert. Use the iNature app for quick AI-powered identification in the field.
Wayfaring-tree
Viburnum lantana L.
Viburnum lantana L., also called hoarwithy, is a deciduous shrub or small tree grown ornamentally for its flowers and berries.
guelder-rose
Viburnum opulus L.
Viburnum opulus is a deciduous flowering shrub grown ornamentally, with edible but bitter, mildly toxic fruit.
fava bean
Vicia faba L.
Vicia faba L., the broad or fava bean, is an ancient cultivated legume with food and cultural uses worldwide.
hookedspur violet
Viola adunca Sm.
Viola adunca Sm. is a small perennial violet, with edible aerial parts and toxic rhizomes, fruit, and seeds.
common blue violet
Viola sororia Willd.
Viola sororia, common meadow violet, is an edible perennial violet, used as food, medicine, and a nectar/host plant for wildlife.
Cape Mistletoe
Viscum capense L.fil.
Viscum capense, or Cape mistletoe, is a poisonous parasitic dioecious mistletoe native to southern African coastal areas, used in traditional medicine.
Bootlace Plant
Wikstroemia indica (L.) C.A.Mey.
Wikstroemia indica is a toxic small shrub used in traditional Chinese medicine and for hand-made fish packaging paper.
ʻĀkia
Wikstroemia oahuensis (A.Gray) Rock
Wikstroemia oahuensis, or ʻākia, is a variable endemic Hawaiian shrub with documented traditional uses and possible anti-tumor activity.
Japanese wisteria
Wisteria floribunda (Willd.) DC.
Wisteria floribunda, Japanese wisteria, is a woody deciduous climbing flowering plant native to Japan, popular for bonsai.
American wisteria
Wisteria frutescens (L.) Poir.
Wisteria frutescens, or American wisteria, is a climbing vine with toxic seeds, that is popular for bonsai.
spiny cocklebur
Xanthium spinosum L.
Xanthium spinosum L. is a spiny annual noxious weed used in traditional medicine that is toxic to human kidneys.
Mojave Yucca
Yucca schidigera Roezl ex Ortgies
Yucca schidigera is a small evergreen yucca native to southwestern North American deserts, used for many commercial and traditional purposes.
Coontie
Zamia integrifolia L.f.
Zamia integrifolia L.f. is a cold-hardy dioecious cycad native to Florida, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas.
calla lily
Zantedeschia aethiopica (L.) Spreng.
Zantedeschia aethiopica is an ornamental perennial calla lily native to southern Africa, classified as invasive in several regions.
Shiny-leaved Prickly Ash
Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC.
Zanthoxylum nitidum is a poisonous woody climber used as an insecticide, piscicide and condiment, found across Asia, India and northern Australia.
Atamasco Lily
Zephyranthes atamasco (L.) Herb.
Zephyranthes atamasco, the atamasco lily, is a poisonous rain-lily native to the southern US, naturalized elsewhere.
Rose Pink Zephyr Lily
Zephyranthes carinata Herb.
Zephyranthes carinata is a bulbous ornamental plant native to Central America that contains toxic alkaloids.
pink rain lily
Zephyranthes robusta (Herb.) Baker
Zephyranthes robusta is a large, toxic, ornamental summer-blooming rain lily native to parts of South America.
Sandbog Death Camas
Zigadenus glaberrimus Michx.
Zigadenus glaberrimus Michx. is a toxic North American flowering plant found in the southeastern United States.
Lightwood
Acacia implexa Benth.
Acacia implexa is a hardy Australian acacia with documented Aboriginal uses and cultivation requirements.
Mountain Maple
Acer spicatum Lam.
Acer spicatum Lam. is a deciduous understory maple grown for maple syrup and used in herbal medicine and craft wood.
desert rose
Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult.
Adenium obesum, the desert rose, is a succulent shrub used as poison for hunting and popular as an ornamental houseplant and bonsai.
giant taro
Alocasia macrorrhizos (L.) G.Don
Alocasia macrorrhizos is an edible aroid native to rainforests of Maritime Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and the Torres Strait Murray Islands.
triangle-leaf bursage
Ambrosia deltoidea (Torr.) W.W.Payne
Ambrosia deltoidea is a drought-deciduous bursage shrub native to the North American Sonoran Desert that acts as a nurse plant for other desert species.
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