Poisonous plants in Arizona are ones that would cause different types of harm and danger, according to how you approach towards them and how it would effect you. Since the state is home to an extremely hot and dry climate, all sorts of toxic plants thrive there.
Some of these even include desert plants. If you’re visiting the area soon and prefer being safe over sorry, read this list to educate yourself on what plants you need to be cautious for.
Contents
A List of Toxic Plants to Be Vary of in Arizona
1. Ricinus Communis
This is one of the most dangerous plant on earth for humans which is also known as castor bean because they contain the naturally occurring lectin ricin, raw Ricinus communis.
These are what give this plant a poisonous sap and make anyone who approaches it go through different harm. The plant’s genus name, Ricinus, which means “tick” in Latin, may have originated from how these seeds looked.
– Characteristics
The castor plant is a big, delicate perennial or small tree that grows quickly. The castor plant is an evergreen herbaceous or semi-woody big shrub or small tree. The sturdy, delicate perennial can reach 40 feet in frost-free areas and eventually generate woody stems. Even the seeds are beautiful, with various hues and patterns.
– Symptoms
While this plant’s blossoms are unimportant, the crimson, spine-covered seed capsules are attractive. These pods rupture when they are dry, releasing the imprisoned seeds as missiles. When you inhale thee sap, the poison will enter through your lungs and give it a tightness feeling, on the other hand, it would even cause different issues such as making you feel nauseous, and rise your temperature to cause a fever.
2. Devil’s Weed
The devil’s weed is also known as the Jimson weed plant contains the alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine in all of its parts.
Thorn apple, jimson weed, angel’s trumpet, and Jamestown weed are all nightshade family members.
– Characteristics
Jimsonweed is a plant that may grow up to 6.5 feet tall and can reach heights of one to almost two meters. It is typically found next to roadways or in other disturbed areas. Despite the plant being dangerous to people, its seeds have the highest anticholinergic content.
The plant produces big spiky capsule fruits frequently referred to as “thorn apples” and has large white or violet trumpet-shaped blooms. The simple, alternating leaves have serrated to lobed margins and are carried on the green, occasionally purple-tinged stalks.
– Symptoms
Jimson weed’s toxicity levels can differ dramatically from season to season, plant to plant, and even within a single plant. When you become intoxicated, remember that it can impact everyone in a different way, such as it would start making you severely thirsty, as you would feel your mouth is always dry.
When the poison escalates in your body, then you may even start to hallucinate, and start having confusions and lastly, when the amount is too much, you may even die.
3. Dumbcane
When consumed, the dumb canes plant’s leaf gives people a burning sensation. It may be dangerous if the plant is grown close to children or animals because they are more susceptible to it. The effects of ingesting this plant are often mild and transient. This plant’s stems, leaves, and roots contain a deadly substance.
– Characteristics
Tropical America and the West Indies are home to the dumb cane. Large, straightforward leaves that are frequently varied with various greens characterize cultivars. Male and female flowers are located above and below on a long spadix that bears the flowers.
The two sexes are divided by a row of sterile blooms. Fruits produced as a result are clusters of vivid red or orange berries. Dieffenbachia amoena is one variant that may grow up to six feet or more and has 20 inches long leaves with creamy lines along the bigger veins.
It is sometimes considered to be a separate species. Stem cuttings are a simple method of propagating dumb cane. This evergreen indoor plant with a maximum height of six feet it may also grow outside in protected locations in warmer regions. The leaves are big, rectangular, and either completely green or white and green speckled.
– Symptoms
When you accidentally ingest this plant, it would start triggering your throat, and your mouth in the beginning phase, as these parts will start to itch and swell up. On the other hand, you would even start to feel a burning and an irritating sensation that would be growing and becoming more agitating, to a level of causing difficulties breathing.
4. Sago Palm
Sago palm plants are attractive, but take caution—they can be lethal to animals. The well-known palm plant is used as indoor decor throughout the country and improves outdoor landscapes in warmer parts of the United States.
– Characteristics
This plant grows very slowly; it could take up to 50 years to reach its full height of 10 feet. As a houseplant, it is often cultivated. The trunk is where the leaves develop. They have a glossy, palm-like appearance, spiky points, and downward-rolling leaf borders.
Sago plants, also known as Coontie palms, Cardboard palms, Japanese cycads, Cycads, or Zymias, are widely offered for sale in various establishments, from little-known nurseries to the outdoor areas of big-box home improvement stores.
– Symptoms
The genus includes several plants, as all of them would cause different types of intoxication. Sadly, pet owners might not be aware that the potted plant they purchase today could harm their pets tomorrow.
This palm plant’s poisonous seeds or the nuts are the most dangerous to animals and are also the easiest for them to consume than the thorny fronds. Even a small amount of the plant consumed can have negative consequences. The sago plant is also known as one of the Arizona plants poisonous to dogs which means that if you have a four-legged friend, you may want to be extra careful, because if they bite them while being playful, this is a huge threat to their lives.
The palm plant includes several poisonous substances. These substances may negatively affect the neurological system and the liver or even cause severe gastrointestinal distress.
5. Poison Oak
Many people ask, is there poison oak in Arizona? And what’s funny is that the plant is native to it. Yes, Arizona is the home of poison oak and poison ivy.
– Characteristics
When you want to identify it, you must look for three glossy green but juvenile, reddish, leaves with serrated or jagged edges. With its greenish-white blossoms and berry-like yellowish-white fruit, poison oak can grow as a vine, like the Virginia creeper or shrub.
Like poison ivy, the oak also has three leaflets that give it an extremely similar appearance to poison sumac and other three-leaved toxic plants.
The growth habit of Pacific poison oak varies, and it might take the form of a tiny shrub or a woody vine that climbs. Typically, the complex leaves have three or five-lobed leaflets. The plant can be found in a variety of environments, including as deep temperate woods, scrublands, and grasslands.
– Symptoms
What you must remember when it comes to this tree is that all the parts that it grows are poisonous and all contain an intoxicating sap. Any part of the plant, when it comes in contact with your skin, or even with your eye, it would cause irritation.
On the other hand, the more extensively it would touch your skin, the more discomforting it would be because you may even develop blisters. Symptoms of having touched this toxic shrub are almost instant, rash itchy feelings that could easily turn into a more serious matter, similar to those of poison hemlock.
6. Oleander Arizona
Also known as Nerium oleander, this tree is one of the most poisonous trees in Arizona and can have extremely serious effects on humans and animals. When people ask what are some Arizona plants that cause rashes, many pro gardeners will almost always name this tree.
– Characteristics
Flowering oleanders, which quickly grow to a height of eight to 20 feet and have a dramatic color range ranging from white to red and shades of yellow, pink, and salmon, form incredibly beautiful borders and hedges. It is not surprising that they are prevalent in landscapes.
– Symptoms
When you get to ingest the Oleander Arizona plant, you will start to develop poisonous symptoms after two to four hours, as all parts of the plant contain the intoxicating sap. The symptoms that you would have would include losing appetite, and developing abdominal issues. In addition, to vomiting when the case gets more intense, it would even lead to death.
Conclusion
Poisonous plants like the one mentioned above can always be harmful. It is best to keep yourself and others safe to avoid more escalated health situations. Remember:
- While poison oak may look like your typical everyday green, it is not. Try to steer away from plants that have three leaflets with round edges.
- Oleander trees are highly toxic and should avoid being touched by humans and animals, even if you see them in larger settings like golf courses and tracks.
- Jimsonweeds can have fast effects on the human body, so carry anti-allergens or have a safety number on speed dial.
You can keep a safe distance from all kinds of toxic plants in Arizona. Make sure that you know the features of the plants, so that you would be safe away from them.
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