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.
Lance-leaved Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata L.
Coreopsis lanceolata L. is a perennial yellow-flowered plant native to eastern and central US, used for urban pollinator restoration.
Karaka
Corynocarpus laevigatus J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
Corynocarpus laevigatus (karaka) is a poisonous evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand, invasive in Hawaii.
Silver Croton
Croton argyranthemus Michx.
Croton argyranthemus is a small scaly-stemmed shrub native to the southeastern US, found in sandy longleaf pine sandhills.
Scaldweed
Cuscuta gronovii Willd. ex Schult.
Cuscuta gronovii, common dodder, is a small-chlorophyll parasitic annual vine native to North America that infects host plants.
desert thorn-apple
Datura discolor Bernh.
Datura discolor is a toxic night-blooming Datura species native to North America and the Caribbean, grown ornamentally for its large flowers.
long-spined thorn-apple
Datura ferox L.
Datura ferox is a toxic annual Datura species native to the Americas, widespread as a dangerous weed in warm regions worldwide.
downy thorn-apple
Datura innoxia Mill.
Datura innoxia is a toxic tuberous subshrub grown ornamentally, used traditionally for medicine and rituals, and invasive in some areas.
metel devil's trumpet
Datura metel L.
Datura metel L. is a toxic New World-origin herb used in traditional medicine and historically in criminal poisoning.
Oak-leaved Thorn-apple
Datura quercifolia Kunth
Datura quercifolia is an oak-leaved poisonous Datura species first described in 1818, with spiny green capsules and short white-pale violet funnel flowers.
jimsonweed
Datura stramonium L.
Datura stramonium is a widely naturalized toxic annual herb with potent anticholinergic alkaloids, used historically in medicine.
Sacred Datura
Datura wrightii Regel
Datura wrightii Regel is a poisonous herbaceous perennial with large fragrant trumpet flowers, native to southwestern North America.
wild carrot
Daucus carota L.
Daucus carota L. (wild carrot) is an edible, variable biennial herb native to Eurasia and northern Africa, with many introduced populations.
doubtful knight's-spur
Delphinium ajacis L.
Consolida ajacis is a poisonous, ornamental annual flowering plant native to Eurasia and introduced to North America.
Subalpine Larkspur
Delphinium barbeyi (Huth) Huth
Delphinium barbeyi, common larkspur species native to the interior western US, is a toxic perennial herb that causes cattle deaths on rangelands.
Texas mountain laurel
Dermatophyllum secundiflorum (Ortega) Gandhi & Reveal
Dermatophyllum secundiflorum is a toxic evergreen ornamental plant native to arid North American habitats.
Pacific Bleeding Heart
Dicentra formosa (Andrews) Walp.
Dicentra formosa, or Pacific bleeding-heart, is a toxic perennial herb native to North American moist woodland habitats.
Spanish Rusty Foxglove
Digitalis obscura L.
Digitalis obscura is a toxic western Mediterranean foxglove historically used in human and veterinary folk medicine.
purple foxglove
Digitalis purpurea L.
Digitalis purpurea, common foxglove, is a toxic, medicinally and ornamentally valuable plant native to Western Europe and North Africa.
purple viper's-bugloss
Echium plantagineum L.
Echium plantagineum, or Paterson's curse, is a toxic winter annual that harms livestock, horses, and humans.
marsh horsetail
Equisetum palustre L.
Equisetum palustre L. (marsh horsetail) is a toxic wetland fern ally that occurs across Europe and the northern circumpolar region.
spotted emu bush
Eremophila maculata (Ker Gawl.) F.Muell.
Eremophila maculata is a variable Australian shrub widely used in drought-tolerant horticulture with mixed reports of toxicity to livestock.
Poinsettia
Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch
Euphorbia pulcherrima, or poinsettia, is a popular cultivated potted plant widely incorrectly thought to be highly toxic.
milky mangrove
Excoecaria agallocha L.
Excoecaria agallocha L. is a toxic dioecious back mangrove tree with medical uses, the sole host of mangrove jewel bug larvae.
Wild Fig
Ficus insipida Willd.
Ficus insipida is a neotropical fig tree, whose latex is used as an anthelmintic and to produce the enzyme ficin.
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