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).
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