poisonous2pets

Hello Everyone,

There have been some questions about a plant named Rhoeo and its connection to dermatitis in domestic animals. Rhoeo has been renamed Tradescantia which was included in the book. But lets look over this plant again.

Rhoeo spathacea, R. discolor, R. bermudensis Syn: Tradescantia discolor, Tradescantia spathacea
Rhoeo spathacea variegata, R. spathacea Vittata Syn. Tradescantia spathacea Vittata.

Common Name: Boatlily, Moses-in-a-basket, Oyster Plant

Scientific Family: Commelinaceae

Commonly seen in: Tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates. It is a very common plant, which is located in a number of areas including shopping complexes, domestic gardens, and parks, along roads and in public arenas.

Toxicity Rating: Low but the dermatitis can be severe.

Signs of Toxicity:

Skin: Severe contact dermatitis. Dogs will scratch themselves until they are bleeding.
Gastrointestinal: Vomiting and diarrhoea.

First Point of Call: If you pet has had direct contact with the plant and any redness or rash is seen, rinse your pet in water of rat least 10 minutes to reduce the severity of the symptoms. If your pet has consumed this plant, remove any plant remaining in your pet’s mouth and gently rinse around the mouth with water. If diarrhoea or vomiting persist, contact your veterinarian.

Description: An Evergreen plant which grows in a rosette fashion to 60 centimetres in height. It has strap like leaves, which can be variegated and are smooth in texture. They are usually deep green above with a purple underside. The inconspicuous white flowers are borne among the leaves and grow in a clustered arrangement. They are enclosed within two purplish bracts and can bloom all year.

Poisoning Occurs: By direct contact or by ingestion of this plant.

Poisonous Parts: The leaves.

Toxic Principles: Unknown but possibly oxalate crystals.

References:
O’Kane, Nicole (2009). Poisonous2pets: Plants poisonous to dogs and cats. Palmer Higgs Pty Ltd: Melbourne.

The photos of the Tradescantia spathacea are courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr.

On an entirely different note, you may have noticed that there is a lovely green tree frog on the left hand side of my home page. When you click on this link it takes you to the site of a wonderful organization called Animals Australia. Please click on the link and take a look. They are an extremely important organization that does a lot of good work. Animals Australia do not receive anything from being added to my site, I just believe in the work that they do and wanted to help their cause by linking to their site from mine.

I hope everyone enjoyed their new year, and until next time…. Have a great 2010.