Heart-leaved philodendron-Philodendron scandens C. Koch & H. Sello-Poisonous plant

Heart-leaved philodendron

General poisoning notes:

Heart-leaved philodendron (Philodendron scandens) is an ornamental. Chewing the leaves of philodendrons results in painful burning and swelling of the mouth parts because of the oxalates. Contact dermatitis also occurs (Lampe and McCann 1985). A recent survey showed that even though 67% of 188 cases involved philodendrons, only one case developed minor symptoms (Mrvos et al. 1990). McIntire et al. (1990) describe the death of an infant after it had ingested a philodendron. The child had ulceration of lips and tongue as well as esophageal erosion. Death was caused by cardiac arrest secondary to vagotonia resulting from esophageal erosions. Family pets can also exhibit signs of toxicity if they chew on leaves of philodendrons. Hanna (1986) lists several symptoms attributable to ingestion of these plants by pets. However, Sellers et al. (1977) conducted laboratory feeding studies on cats and concluded that signs of acute toxicity were not found upon necropsy, even when large quantities of leaves were ingested. Experimental work on mice and rats showed that death occurred when the rodents were given extracts from leaves and stems (Der Marderosian et al. 1976).

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Philodendron scandens C. Koch & H. Sello

Vernacular name(s): heart-leaved philodendron

Scientific family name: Araceae

Vernacular family name: arum

Geographic Information

Plant or plant parts used in or around the home.

Toxic parts:

Leaves

Toxic plant chemicals:

oxalate

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Cats

General symptoms of poisoning:

Nephritis, nervousness, opisthotonos, temperature, elevated, trembling.

Humans

General symptoms of poisoning:

Mouth, irritation of

Notes on poisoning:

Painful burning and swelling of lips, mouth, tongue, and throat can develop quickly after chewing of leaves. Contact dermatitis can also occur. Treatment includes administering cool liquids. The insoluble oxalates do not produce systemic poisoning in humans

Rodents

General symptoms of poisoning:

Death.

Poultry

General symptoms of poisoning:

Breathing, labored, convulsions, incoordination, weight loss.

Notes on poisoning:

Feeding chicks experimentally on a diet of 30-80% hairy vetch seeds caused 20-40% mortality. Symptoms included weight loss, excitability, and sometimes violent convulsions (Cooper and Johnson 1984).