» Poisonous Plants

Family: Asteraceae Scientific name: Eupatorium rugosum Houtt. Common name: White snakeroot, snakeroot Description: The large genus Eupatorium of the sunflower family includes a diverse group of species, with flowers ranging from white (Eupatorium rugosum) to blue, violet, and a purplish … more »

Family: Apiaceae Scientific name: Cicuta douglasii (DC.) Coult. & Rose Common name: Western waterhemlock Description: Waterhemlock is a branching perennial that reaches a height of more than 6 feet. The swollen bases of the stems and the usually thick roots … more »

Family: Ranunculaceae Scientific name: Actaea rubra (Ait.) Willd. Common name: Western baneberry, dolls-eyes, snakeberry Description:  Western baneberry  is a tall perennial herb in the buttercup family. In the shade of the open forest, this plant is 2 to 3 feet … more »

Family: Fabaceae Scientific name: Abrus precatorius L. Common name: Precatory bean, rosary pea, crab’s-eye, jequirity bean Description: This member of the legume family is a twining, perennial vine that may climb on other plants to a height of 10 to … more »

Family: Phytolaccaceae Scientific name: Phytolacca american L. Common name: Pokeberry, pokeweed, pigeonberry, inkweed, garget, scobe Description: Pokeberry is a smooth, herbaceous perennial of the pokeberry family; it develops from a thick taproot. The stem may reach up to 6 feet … more »

Family: Apiaceae Scientific name: Conium maculatum L. Common name: Poison hemlock, hemlock Description: Poison hemlock is a tall biennial herb with a stout taproot and purple-spotted stems. The leaves are pinnately dissected three to four times with rather small ultimate … more »

Family: Apocynaceae Scientific name: Nerium oleander L. Common name: Oleander Description: This tall shrub is in the dogbane family, but it differs from many species in that family because it does not have any milky juice in the stems and … more »