Yellow sage
General poisoning notes:
Yellow sage (Lantana camara) is occasionally sold as a houseplant and may also be planted outdoors in the summer in Canada. Children who ingested green berries became ill and died. In warmer parts of the world (e.g., Florida, Australia), the plant grows outside and becomes weedy. Livestock have been poisoned after ingesting the entire plants. Importantly, livestock that ingest berries exhibit symptoms that are different from those of children who ingest the berries. Livestock do not normally encounter this plant in Canada, but the symptoms of poisoning are included under cattle. Sheep and goats have also been poisoned. Care should be taken to keep children as well as family pets away from this plant (Wolfson and Solomons 1964, McLennan and Amos 1989, Spoerke and Smolinske 1990). Cats and dogs that have access to yellow sage indoors can become poisoned if they ingest the immature berries of foliage of this plant. No records were found in the literature of toxicity in pets from yellow sage ingestion.
Description:
Common lantana is a rugged evergreen shrub from the tropics. The species will grow to 6 ft (1.8 m) high and may spread to 8 ft (2.4 m) in width with some varieties able to clamber vinelike up supports to greater heights with the help of support. The leaves are 2-5 in (5-12.7 cm) long by 1-2 in (2.5-5 cm) wide with rounded tooth edges and a textured surface. Stems and leaves are covered with rough hairs and emit an unpleasant aroma when crushed (smells like cat pee). The small flowers are held in clusters (called umbels) that are typically 1-2 in (2.5-5.1 cm) across. In the tropics lantana is a non-stop bloomer. Where it is killed to the ground by frost the lantana blooms in summer and fall. Flower color ranges from white to yellow, orange to red, pink to rose in unlimited combinations, in addition the flowers usually change in color as they age. A lantana may look orange from a distance but the flowerhead is examined at close range it consists of individual white, yellow and red flowers that blend when viewed from afar.
Lantana camara L.
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Lantana camara L.
Vernacular name(s): yellow sage
Common Names: lantana, shrub verbena
Scientific family name: Verbenaceae
Vernacular family name: vervain
Geographic Information:
Plant or plant parts used in or around the home.
Notes on Poisonous plant parts:
Ingesting the leaves has caused poisoning in livestock in areas where the plant can survive outdoors, such as Florida and Australia. Young children who ingested the green berries became ill and died (Wolfson and Solomons 1964, McLennan and Amos 1989).
Toxic parts:
Leaves, immature fruit.
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
Lantadene A and lantadene B, which are pentacyclic triterpenes, have been suspected as the toxic constituents of yellow sage leaves. However, there are conflicting findings on the chemical toxins and their toxic affects on animals. Sharma et al. (1989) found that crystal polymorphism in the triterpenoids changes the toxicity (polyhedral crystals are toxic to guinea pigs and rod-shaped crystals are not). In addition, the toxic component of the berries has not been defined. The plant also contains a fish poison, lancamarone, that is present in the greatest concentration in the summer. The effects of this chemical on mammals have not been studied (Spoerke and Smolinske 1990).
Toxic plant chemicals:
Lantadene A & B.
Lantadene B
Lantadene A
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.
Cats
Cattle
General symptoms of poisoning:
Appetite, loss of, dehydration, jaundice, urine, yellowish.
Dogs
Goats
Humans
General symptoms of poisoning:
Ataxia, breathing, labored, cyanosis, diarrhea, death, lethargy, liver, congestion of, pupils, pinpoint, pupil dilation, unconsciousness, vomiting, weakness.
Notes on poisoning:
Ingesting the green berries of yellow sage produces the following symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, lethargy, cyanosis, slow labored breathing, dilated pupils, ataxia, coma, and depressed deep tendon reflexes. Postmortem findings showed congestion of the lungs and kidneys. The small intestines were dilated. These symptoms all occurred after an unknown quantity of the immature green berries was ingested. The rough texture of the leaves and stems discourages children from ingesting them. Humans have therefore not shown the photosensitivity and liver problems that occur when livestock ingest entire plants. Lavage should be done quickly to reduce or prevent symptoms. Several authors have reported that the ripe berries are nontoxic to humans (Wolfson and Solomons 1964, Spoerke and Smolinske 1990).
