Native Plants

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Thursday - May 20, 2010

From: Las Cruces, NM
Region: Southwest
Topic: Poisonous Plants
Title: Are globe mallows (Sphaeralcea spp.) harmful to dogs
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

My dogs eat the wild globe mallow plants in my yard. Could that be harmful to them?

ANSWER:

There are nine species of globemallow that are native to New Mexico—Sphaeralcea angustifolia (copper globemallow), Sphaeralcea coccinea (scarlet globemallow), Sphaeralcea fendleri (Fendler's globemallow), Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia (gooseberryleaf globemallow), Sphaeralcea hastulata (spear globemallow), Sphaeralcea incana (gray globemallow), Sphaeralcea laxa (caliche globemallow), Sphaeralcea leptophylla (scaly globemallow) and Sphaeralcea parvifolia (smallflower globemallow)—but none of them, nor any other member of the genus Sphaeralcea appears on any of the toxic plant databaes shown below. It isn't very likely that they will hurt your dogs.

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List-Dogs

Poisonous Plants of North Carolina

Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock

University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants