12 Poisonous Plants in Tennessee People Must Avoid Placing

Poisonous plants in Tennessee can be toxic to people, animals, and insects. Many of these plants are native to the state and can cause serious harm if ingested, touched, or inhaled.

There are different kinds of poisonous plants in Tennessee. The following list contains all the details of these plants that you should thoroughly check out.

Different Types of Poisonous Plants in Tennessee

1. Poison Ivy

Native to the Southeastern United States, poison ivy is a poisonous plant that can be found growing in Tennessee. It is an aggressive in different ways, with its vine as its large trifoliate leaves and together with the dull green or yellow berries, which are again intoxicating when consumed.

Symptoms of contact dermatitis include itching, redness, blisters, and pain, which can last up to three weeks if left untreated. To protect against this irritable rash, it’s important to learn how to identify the plant to avoid coming into contact with it.

2. Poison Oak

Poison oak is a native, poisonous shrub found throughout Tennessee. The leaves of this plant contain urushiol, an allergic compound that can cause a severe rash on contact with the skin. Park visitors and hikers are particularly vulnerable to these allergens as the plant loves well-drained soil along roads and trails and usually stands about three feet tall.

Its three leaflets arranged in an oak-like fashion make it easy to identify; however, poison oak is often mistaken for another harmless plant species. It is important to be aware of its prevalence throughout Tennessee, or else it will be such a risk to think it is safe, when actually it is very harmful.

3. Poison Sumac

Poison Sumac is a native plant to the eastern parts of North America which includes Tennessee. On another note, it can also be found in Canada, and as far south as Florida. It has smooth branches and on the edges, it blooms with leathery leaves which are arranged oppositely along them. These leaves are green during warmer months, then turn red-orange in fall and produce berry-like fruits in clusters on their twigs.

However, contact with these plants can cause dermatitis causing an itchy rash, blisters, and swelling. These causes are due to the result of the oil secretion from the leaves, after these symptoms come, they will leave on their own from a day to two weeks time, depending on the quantity.

4. Poison Hemlock

Native to the Mediterranean region and widely introduced elsewhere, poison hemlock is a highly toxic biennial herb belonging to the Apiaceae family that has become a common sight in ditches and open woodlands across Tennessee.

This plant’s hollow stems can grow anywhere from two to eight feet tall and have finely separate leaves with white to purple-splotched hairs and small white flowers that form pistillate and multiple terminal umbels. 

This deadly plant contains a potent combination of volatile piperidine alkaloids that are extremely harmful if ingested by humans, animals, or livestock. This would depend on the quantity that one would have to ingest, and how their body responds to it. 

5. Stinging Nettle

Stinging nettle is a widespread plant found throughout the eastern United States, including Tennessee. In order to identify this plant, you should check for its features, which are leaves with jagged edges covered in tiny hairs embedded with formic acid, this plant can cause a burning sensation if touched with a bare finger or hands.

It is typically grown around abandoned homes and empty fields, though it does not generally pose any significant threat to humans unless handled directly. Despite its potential uses, great caution should be taken when handling stinging nettle since contact with the hairs can result in skin irritation or blistering of the skin, or anywhere it has had contact with.

6. River Hemp

River hemp is a poisonous herbaceous perennial native to North America and commonly found along the banks of rivers and streams in Tennessee, basically it is found where the area is rich in water. Its weak stems are covered with smooth dark green leaves which can be used as a mild laxative or diuretic, though it contains enough cytotoxic compounds that ingestion should be avoided or else the harm is pretty big.

All parts of the plant are toxic, most notably its milky white sap which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, confusion, and even death if ingested in significant quantities, because the sap is severe to the human body.

7. Great Millet

Great millet is an exotic annual grass native to Eurasia that has become a serious threat in parts of Tennessee. Growing in weedy patches and reaching heights of six to eight feet, the rhizomatous weed spreads aggressively through its stem-like underground runners and can crowd outcrop plants and desirable vegetation.

It not only affects agricultural fields but can also damage residential lawns and create fire hazards when it grows in large numbers along roadway ditches, railroad tracks, and utility rights-of-way. This plant is a different type of danger attraction, because it will damage in different ways.

8. Umbellifers

Umbellifer, or sea holly, is a harmful species of plant native to Tennessee. It can reach up to four feet in height and has bright yellow flowers on branches branching off from the main stem. These poisonous plants contain three toxic alkaloids such as coniine, gamma-coniceine, and conhydrine.

They also contain two essential oils, dillapiole and d-limonene, and these are its active agents. Note that when one consumes this plant, it has the ability to lead to an extent of a fatal poisoning due to these toxins. However, the milder symptoms would include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, the stronger the quantity, the more severe its symptoms would get, leading to paralysis of the limbs, and breathing difficulties and would even lead to death.

9. Easter Lily

The Easter lily is a poisonous plant native to Southeast Asia and found in certain regions of North America, including Tennessee. Although this ornamental lily is beautiful and pleasing to the eye, ingestion of its flowers or bulbs can cause severe gastrointestinal discomfort in humans and animals alike, which is how and why it is toxic, in parallel to this, the same way, if pets consume it as well, they will also get intoxicated. 

Symptoms include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, excessive drooling, and dilated pupils. As a general rule, gardeners should exercise caution when planting these lilies or when disposing of dead plants as contact with this species’ pollen can also lead to rashes.

10. Sneezeweed

Sneezeweed is a poisonous plant native to Tennessee and other states in the United States. Its common name derives from its active chemical components, which are known to cause sneezing when inhaled.

The primary chemical responsible for producing respiratory irritation is sesquiterpene lactones, present mostly in the flowers and leaves of Sneezeweed. 

When one tends to ingest the Sneezeweed it will be intoxicating to the body, in addition, it is also intoxicating for pets too. As a result of ingestion of large amounts, it can result in abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, skin irritations, and potentially even death.

11. Japanese Yew

The Japanese yew is a highly poisonous plant native to temperate regions of East Asia and is a common ornamental species in Tennessee gardens. Despite being visually attractive, it should be handled with extreme caution due to its toxicity. All parts of the plant contain an alkaloid known as taxine, and this causes different issues.

Symptoms of ingestion include difficulty breathing, extremity weakness, and possible paralysis, as well as excessive salivation, vomiting, gastrointestinal upsets, and trembling. Once ingested, taxine can quickly work its way into mammalian bodies creating prolonged paralysis and even cardiac arrest if untreated, which means that the muscle of the heart would also contract.

12. Hairy Vetch

Hairy Vetch is an aggressive invasive species in Tennessee that has the potential to cause great harm to both humans and livestock. As a result, it is prone to cause gastric distress and gastroenteritis in humans if ingested, with symptoms including excessive salivation, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, and cramps.

In addition to these symptoms, it can also cause rapid heart rate and respiratory difficulty that requires medical intervention. Cattle are especially vulnerable to its toxic effects with ingestion.

Conclusion

All these different types of poisonous plants in Tennessee can be harmful in one way or another as you have seen. Here are the dangers of some of these plants at a glance,

• River Hemp contains milky white sap which can cause diarrhea, vomiting, or drowsiness.

• Great millet can not only damage residential lawns but also affects agricultural fields, which is why one should be cautious.

• Umbellifers cause many problems including abdominal pain and breathing difficulties, and even further damages depending on the quantity.

• Easter lily can cause severe gastrointestinal discomfort in humans and animals alike.

To avoid all these dangers, you should always keep a safe distance from these plants. Make sure that you do no get close to them, because their discomfort can even lead to fatal causes.

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