Plant Safety
Safer Plant Choices
Choose the audience first. A plant may carry different risks for pets, children, or an adult handling sap and thorns.
Who or what are you protecting?
Plants listed as non-toxic
Start with plants listed as non-toxic, then check the individual profile and your pet's behavior.
Browse non-toxic listingsPlants with documented toxicity
Review the plant, likely exposure route, and who can reach it before choosing a response.
Review toxic plantsWhere to start
- Choosing a new plant for a home with a cat or dog. Open the non-toxic list first, then open the plant's profile and confirm that your animal is one of the animals the record names.
- Checking plants you already own. Look each one up on the toxic list by its scientific name, because one common name can belong to several different plants.
- An animal or child has already chewed a plant. Skip the lists and go straight to what to do after exposure.
What a listing can and cannot tell you
Each list is drawn from the safety record on a plant's own profile. A plant joins a list only when that record matches the profile's scientific name, names the animals, describes the exposure, and points to a source the profile cites, such as the ASPCA plant list or a university extension record.
Listed as non-toxic
The cited source lists the species as non-toxic for the animals named. The listing covers the plant material only. It does not make the plant edible, and it says nothing about pesticide, fertilizer, or concentrated oil on or from the plant.
Documented toxicity
The cited source lists the species as toxic. The record says which animals, from cats and dogs to horses, and which exposure, most often chewing or swallowing leaves and stems. Some records also warn about sap on skin.
On neither list
The profile does not yet carry a complete record. That gap says nothing about whether the plant is safe, so treat an unlisted plant as unknown and check the species with your veterinarian or a poison service.
Similar care does not mean a similar record
Plants that share a windowsill and a watering routine can sit on opposite lists, so a record for one plant never covers its look-alike.
Two succulents that both want the soil to dry before the next watering.
- Jade PlantToxic to dogs, cats, horses
- Donkey TailListed non-toxic to dogs, cats, horses
Two easy houseplants that suit many of the same bright rooms.
- Golden PothosToxic to dogs, cats, horses
- Spider PlantListed non-toxic to dogs, cats
One species can carry a different record for each animal.
- Red MapleToxic to horses
Ingestion, especially wilted leaves. ASPCA separately lists Acer rubrum as non-toxic to dogs and cats.
Act on the situation you have
Move away from the plant
Prevent more contact. Do not force vomiting or give a home remedy.
Identify what happened
Save the plant name, a photo, the part involved, the amount, and the time.
Call the right professional
Contact a veterinarian, poison service, or emergency service based on symptoms and who was exposed.
Placement still matters
Check the whole household
Consider pets, children, visitors, and anyone who handles pruning or repotting.
Use the scientific name
Common names can refer to different plants. Confirm the exact species when risk matters.
Recheck after a move
A shelf, patio, or garden bed may become reachable as a child, pet, or plant grows.