Houseplants bring life into a room, but plenty of the most popular ones are toxic to dogs and cats, sometimes in small amounts. Even brushing against a leaf or getting sap on the skin can trigger itchiness or a rash, and eating a piece of the wrong plant can turn into an emergency.

Here are 25 common indoor plants, holiday plants, and cut flowers worth knowing before you bring them home.

Baby's breath flowers, toxic to dogs and cats

25 Toxic Houseplants to Watch For

  • Aloe Vera (the gel itself is generally considered safe for topical use; it’s the plant material that’s the concern)
  • Amaryllis (common holiday potted bulb)
  • Arrow-Head Vine
  • Asparagus Fern
  • Baby’s Breath (common in cut bouquets)
  • Begonia
  • Chrysanthemum (including potted fall mums)
  • Cyclamen
  • Dracaena (including Corn Plant, Dragon Tree, Money Tree, and Lucky Bamboo)
Jade plant leaves, toxic to dogs and cats
  • Elephant’s Ear (also called Caladium, Alocasia, or Angel’s Wing)
  • English Ivy
  • Geranium
  • Jade Plant
  • Lilies (Asian, Easter, Calla, Day, Japanese Show, Lily of the Valley, Peruvian, and Tiger — especially dangerous for cats)
  • Marijuana
  • Mistletoe (common holiday decor)
  • Peace Lily (not a true member of the lily family)
  • Peony (common in cut arrangements)
  • Philodendron and Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane)
  • Pothos (Devil’s Ivy)
  • Rubber Tree
  • Sago Palm and Cardboard Palm
  • Shamrock (Oxalis)
  • Snake Plant (mother-in-law’s tongue)
  • Spider Plant

A note on Spider Plant: most sources, including the ASPCA, list it as only mildly toxic at worst, occasional stomach upset rather than anything serious. Kept on the list since it’s still commonly flagged, but it’s a lower-concern entry than most others here. Worth knowing either way.

Poinsettias have a longstanding reputation as highly toxic, but that’s mostly a myth. According to the ASPCA’s plant database, reactions are typically mild, irritation or upset stomach rather than a medical emergency, though it’s still worth keeping them out of reach.

25 Toxic Houseplants to Watch For

If your pet gets into one of these plants, watch for:

  • Lethargy
  • Drooling or excessive salivation
  • Seizures or tremors
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Loss of appetite
  • Vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain
  • Swelling of the mouth, throat, or tongue
  • Breathing difficulty
  • Skin itchiness or irritation
  • Black, tar-like stool
  • Signs of kidney distress

Call your vet immediately if you see any of these. You can also reach:

Animal Poison Control: 888-426-4435 (consultation fee may apply)

Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661 ($75 fee applies)

How to Check If a Plant Is Safe

Unless you’re a horticulturist, telling a toxic plant from a harmless lookalike isn’t always easy. The ASPCA maintains a searchable database of toxic and non-toxic plants by species, scientific name, or common name, worth bookmarking before you bring home anything new. Several of these plants can also be harmful to small children, so it’s worth checking before adding new plants to a home with either kids or pets.

Have an outdoor garden too? Landscaping and garden plants carry their own set of risks, including several that are dangerous to horses. See our guide to outdoor garden dangers for that side of it.

Why Grooming Matters After Plant Exposure

Even a plant that only causes mild irritation can leave sap, pollen, or residue on your pet’s coat, and pets groom themselves with their mouths. That means anything that brushed onto their fur has a good chance of getting licked off later, turning a skin-level brush against a toxic plant into an ingestion risk.

Regular grooming with the EquiGroomer for dogs and cats helps catch that kind of residue in the coat before your pet has the chance to lick it off, on top of the normal shedding control.