Deadly Plants

Florida is named for the vast number of beautiful flowers and plants that can be grown here—but many have a dark side.

Popular landscape plants like allamanda and croton can cause illness or sometimes even death. Both angel’s trumpet and oleander are widely planted because of their beautiful flowers. But gardeners should know that eating any part of these plants can cause toxic or even deadly effects. Castor bean has become increasingly popular as an ornamental plant, but it too is dangerous. Eating just three or four of its seeds could kill a person. Even the widely planted sago can be poisonous—even deadly—for pets.

The key is to be aware that there may be poisonous plants in your landscape. If a poisoning is ever suspected, you should contact your poison control center immediately.

Also on Gardening Solutions

• Angel’s Trumpet
• Chinaberry
• Coral Bean
• Dieffenbachia
• Flowering Tobacco
• Golden Dewdrop
• Lantana
• Milkweed
• Mistletoe
• Oleander
• Red Buckeye Tree
• Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow

UF/IFAS Sites

• Florida Plant ID: Cashew
• Florida Plant ID: Cherokee Bean, Coral Bean
• Florida Plant ID: Croton
• Pinellas Timely Topics: Toxic Plants

UF/IFAS Publications

• Allamanda violacea Purple Allamanda
• Cashew-Apple Fruit Growing in the Florida Home Landscape
• Crinum americanum String Lily, Swamp Lily
• Hurricane Lilies, Lycoris Species, in Florida
• Identification of Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac in Florida
• Laburnum spp.: Goldenchain Tree
• Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana L.
• Rainlily, Zephyranthes and Habranthus spp.: Low Maintenance Flowering Bulbs for Florida Gardens
• Taxus floridana, Florida Yew
• Weed Management in Pastures and Rangeland