Sunday, June 21, 2009

ALERT - Poisonous Houseplant

Received via email (thanks, Michelle!), original message from the Burnt Hills Veterinary Hospital (and checked via several other sources)

Poisoning ALERT!!!!

"Sago Palm" or "Cycad"
Poisoning Alert- It has come to our attention that many home improvement stores are selling a houseplant that can cause serious poisoning in pets and children. The plant is called the “Sago Palm” or “Cycad”. It is also referred to as “The Oldest Known Plant”. It is used in outdoor landscaping in Southern States, but can only survive as a houseplant in the North. All of this plant, including the seeds and root ball are toxic. Signs of illness first appear about 12 hours after ingestion and include gastrointestinal sign such as vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy. The toxins in the plant lead to severe liver failure with progressive weakness, jaundice, bruising and bleeding and other signs of liver failure that lead to death.

It is estimated that 75-80% of animals ingesting this plant will die in spite of aggressive medical treatment.

If you have one of these plants in your home you will want to be sure to keep it away from pets and children, preferably by disposing of it safely in a covered trash can or “rehome” it with someone who does not have pets or young children in the household.


Here is what this plant looks like:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check out this web site and click on the Petition Link to help those that haven't been poisoned yet: http://www.mo-driver.com/sago-palm-plants-kill.htm

Anonymous said...

If you absolutely love the look, you can get a small fake one that looks absolutely genuine but won't hurt anybody.