Skip to main content
menu sluit menu
Home Home
Login
Main navigation
  • Library
  • Calendar
  • e-Learning
  • News
    • Veterinary News In this section you find veterinary news
    • Recent Additions All content that was recently added to the IVIS library
  • Get involved
    • Donate Support IVIS, make a donation today
    • Media kit Promote your e-learning & events on IVIS
    • Add your e-learning & events to the IVIS calendar
    • Publish on IVIS Publish your work with us
  • About
    • Mission Our Mission Statement
    • What we do More info about IVIS and what we do
    • Who we are More info about the IVIS team
    • Authors See list of all IVIS authors and editors
  • Contact
User tools menu
User tools menu
Main navigation
  • Library
  • Calendar
  • e-Learning
  • News
    • Veterinary News In this section you find veterinary news
    • Recent Additions All content that was recently added to the IVIS library
  • Get involved
    • Donate Support IVIS, make a donation today
    • Media kit Promote your e-learning & events on IVIS
    • Add your e-learning & events to the IVIS calendar
    • Publish on IVIS Publish your work with us
  • About
    • Mission Our Mission Statement
    • What we do More info about IVIS and what we do
    • Who we are More info about the IVIS team
    • Authors See list of all IVIS authors and editors
  • Contact
Follow IVIS
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Support IVIS

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Library
  3. Veterinary Toxicology
  4. Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin
Veterinary Toxicology by Val Beasley
Back to Table of Contents
Add to My Library
Close
Would you like to add this to your library?

Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website

  • Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
  • Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
  • Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
  • Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
  • Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Sign in Register
Comments
Print this article
Share:
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • Twitter

Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin

Author(s):
Beasley V.
In: Veterinary Toxicology by Beasley V.
Updated:
AUG 09, 1999
Languages:
  • EN
Back to Table of Contents
Add to My Library
Close
Would you like to add this to your library?

Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website

  • Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
  • Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
  • Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
  • Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
  • Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Sign in Register
Print this article
SHARE:
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • Twitter
    Read

    Chapter Sections

    Nettles

    Burdock

    Wild Barley

    Sandburs

    Other Plants Causing Trauma


    In addition to the plants causing irritation of the oral and gastrointestinal tissues by virtue of oxalate crystals and histamine releasing compounds (members of the Araceae), several other plants may be of importance in isolated cases.

    Sequelae from Perforating Plants Include:

    • Otitis.
    • Lameness.
    • Fistulous tracts.
    • Abscessation.
    • Stomatitis.
    • Suppurative pleuritis.
    • Conjunctivitis.
    • Suppurative arthritis.
    • Infections due to common soil organisms such as Nocardia and Actinomyces.

    Nettles 

    Specific Agents

    Major Species

    Usual Time of Onset

    Usual Duration (if survives)

    Full Table for

    Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin

    Nettles (Urtica and Laportea)

    (contain histamine)

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    Nettle spurge

    (Cnidocolus)

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    * Potentially lethal with secondary infection, such as after perforation of a foreign body

    Images

    • Nettle urtica - Google Image Search.  
    • Nettle Laportea - Google Image Search.  
    • Urtica dioica - Google Image Search.  
    • Urtica spp. and Laportea spp. as well as Nettle spurge (Cnidocolus).
    • Primarily hunting dogs are affected.
    • Abundant stinging hairs which contain varying amounts of acetyl choline, histamine, serotonin, formic acid and possibly other toxic constituents.
    • The resultant clinical signs may include: Salivation, pawing at the mouth, emesis, respiratory distress, slow, irregular heart rate, muscle weakness, and occasionally death.
    • Depending upon the clinical signs, atropine, antihistamines and supportive measures may be indicated.

    Nettle Family
    Urticaceae

    Nettle Family, Urticaceae

    Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica L.

    Perennial - Reproducing by seeds and underground rootstocks.

    Stem - 2 to 7 feet (0.6 to 2 m) tall, slightly branched near the top, slender, rigid, covered with numerous stinging hairs.

    Leaves - Dark green, coarse, opposite, 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) long, pointed with saw-toothed margins, sometimes rounded at base, covered with stinging hairs.

    Flowers - Are greenish without petals and produced in clusters in the leaf axils. Male and female flowers borne separately but on the same plant.

    Seed pod - 1-seeded.

    Seeds - Small, egg-shaped, slightly rough, yellow to grayish-tan.

    Found - In barnyards, fence rows, thickets, waste places, and roadsides; generally in damp rich soil. When this plant comes in contact with the skin it causes welts or inflammation.


    Burdock

    Major Species

    Usual Time of Onset

    Usual Duration (if survives)

    Full Table for

    Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    * Potentially lethal with secondary infection, such as after perforation of a foreign body

    • Arctium lappa.
    • Small hooks on flowers catch in hair of animals, especially dogs. Grooming imbeds these in the tongue and mouth which allows them to serve as a nidus for infection often resulting in a granular appearing glossitis and stomatis.
    • Treatment is comprised of scraping these areas free of the plant material with a scalpel blade.

    Images

    • Burdock, Arctium lappa - Google Image Search.  

    Wild Barley 

    Specific Agents

    Major Species

    Usual Time of Onset

    Usual Duration (if survives)

    Full Table for

    Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin

    Wild Barley

    (Hordeum)

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    Bromes

    (Bromus)

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    * Potentially lethal with secondary infection, such as after perforation of a foreign body

    • (Hordeum spp.) and Bromes (Bromus spp.).
    • Florets imbed and result in fistulous tracts in the skin.

    Native, weedy, annual grass. It is a cool-season, short-lived species that attains a height up to 30 cm or more

    Little Wild Barley (Hordeum pusillum Nutt) - Native, weedy, annual grass. It is a cool-season, short-lived species that attains a height up to 30 cm or more. It flowers and produces fruit during Spring and early Summer.

    Flowers - The spikes are up to 6 - 8 cm in length and are dense and erect. Spikelets are 3 at each joint and are awned.

    Leaves - The root system is shallow. The leaf blades are up to 7 cm long, flat, and somewhat rough on the upper surface.

    Use or Importance - Limited grazing is about the only use made of this plant, and this occurs during Spring. The plant serves as an indicator of overgrazed prairie or pasture.

    Habitat - it is most often found in disturbed areas within prairies. The species occupies a wide variety of soils. Found over much of the United States.

    Images

    • Little Wild Barley, Hordeum Pusillum - Google Image Search.  

    Sandburs

    Major Species

    Usual Time of Onset

    Usual Duration (if survives)

    Full Table for

    Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    * Potentially lethal with secondary infection, such as after perforation of a foreign body

    • Cenchrus paucufloris.
    • Cause irritation to legs and feet and may traumatize feet.

    Other Plants Causing Trauma 

    Specific Agents

    Major Species

    Usual Time of Onset

    Usual Duration (if survives)

    Full Table for

    Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin

    Goatheads

    (Tribulus terrestris)

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    Numerous cacti

    Most species

    Minutes to hours

    Days; rarely lethal *

    * Potentially lethal with secondary infection, such as after perforation of a foreign body

    Images

    • Puncture vine (Tribulus terrestris). Inset: seed head. Knight A.P. and Walter R.G. (Eds.). A Guide to Plant Poisoning of Animals in North America. Ithaca: International Veterinary Information Service (www.ivis.org), 2003.  
    • Tribulus terrestris - Google Image Search.  
    • Other Plants Causing Trauma Include:
    • Goatheads, Tribulus terrestris.
    • Numerous cacti.
    Back to Table of Contents
    Add to My Library
    Close
    Would you like to add this to your library?

    Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website

    • Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
    • Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
    • Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
    • Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
    • Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
    Sign in Register
    Print this article
    Comments (0)

    Ask the author

    0 comments
    Submit
    Close
    Would to like to further discuss this item?

    Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website

    • Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
    • Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
    • Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
    • Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
    • Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
    Sign in Register
    About

    How to reference this publication (Harvard system)?

    Beasley, V. (1999) “Miscellaneous Plants Causing Irritation of the Oral Cavity and the Skin”, Veterinary Toxicology. Available at: https://www.ivis.org/library/veterinary-toxicology/miscellaneous-plants-causing-irritation-of-oral-cavity-and-skin (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

    Affiliation of the authors at the time of publication

    Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.

    Author(s)

    • Beasley Val

      Beasley V.

      Professor of Veterinary, Wildlife, and Ecological Toxicology
      DVM PhD Dipl ABVT
      Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences, PennState
      Read more about this author

    Copyright Statement

    © All text and images in this publication are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced or copied in any way.
    Related Content

    Readers also viewed these publications

    • Journal Issue

      Veterinary Evidence - Vol 7 N°3, Jul-Sep 2022

      In: Veterinary Evidence
      OCT 04, 2022
    • Journal Issue

      Veterinary Practice Management Articles - Veterinary Focus

      In: Veterinary Focus
      AUG 05, 2022
    • Journal Issue

      Canine and Feline Nutrition - Veterinary Focus - Vol. 24(3) - Nov. 2014

      In: Veterinary Focus
      MAR 04, 2021
    • Journal Issue

      Canine Health and Welfare - Veterinary Focus - Vol. 30(3), December 2020

      In: Veterinary Focus
      JAN 15, 2021
    • Journal Issue

      COVID-19, Special Practice Management - Veterinary Focus - May 2020

      In: Veterinary Focus
      MAY 28, 2020
    • Journal Issue

      The C-Factor: Vet Skills in Communication - Veterinary Focus - Mar. 2020

      In: Veterinary Focus
      MAY 01, 2020
    • Proceeding

      AAVPT - Biennial Symposium - Overland Park, 2019

      By: American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology & Therapeutics
      AUG 23, 2019
    • Journal Issue

      Kittens and Young Cats - Veterinary Focus - Vol. 29(1), Mar. 2019

      In: Veterinary Focus
      MAR 01, 2019
    • Journal Issue

      Enfermedades emergentes en porcino - Albéitar - N°222, Ene-Feb. 2019

      In: Albéitar
      FEB 01, 2019
    • Journal Issue

      Improving the pet owner experience in your practice - Veterinary Focus - Special Issue

      In: Veterinary Focus
      APR 01, 2018
    • Chapter

      Miscellaneous Orthopaedic Diseases

      In: Mechanisms of Disease in Small Animal Surgery (3rd Edition)
      FEB 04, 2016
    • Chapter

      Flaviviridae

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      DEC 19, 2008
    • Chapter

      Understanding Cryogenic Liquid Nitrogen Tanks

      In: Reviews in Veterinary Medicine
      MAY 14, 2007
    • Chapter

      Arteriviridae

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      SEP 08, 2006
    • Chapter

      Circoviridae

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      SEP 05, 2006
    • Chapter

      Occupational Health in Animal Care, Use and Research

      In: Laboratory Animal Medicine and Management
      JUL 26, 2006
    • Chapter

      Orthomyxoviridae

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      MAY 09, 2006
    • Chapter

      Herpesviridae

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      MAY 09, 2006
    • Chapter

      Prevention of Viral Diseases, Vaccines and Antiviral Drugs

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      MAR 01, 2006
    • Chapter

      Prions and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      DEC 14, 2005
    • Chapter

      Cumulative Glossary

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      DEC 14, 2005
    • Chapter

      Coronaviridae

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      DEC 14, 2005
    • Chapter

      Index of Diseases

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      DEC 14, 2005
    • Chapter

      Togaviridae

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      DEC 14, 2005
    • Chapter

      Families with Viruses of Minor Veterinary Significance

      In: Concise Review of Veterinary Virology
      DEC 14, 2005
    • Load more
    Back To Top
    Become a member of IVIS and get access to all our resources
    Create an account
    Sign in
    Leading the way in providing veterinary information
    About IVIS
    • Mission
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Need help?
    • Contact
    Follow IVIS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    International Veterinary Information Service (IVIS) is a not-for-profit organization established to provide information to veterinarians, veterinary students, technicians and animal health professionals worldwide using Internet technology.
    Support IVIS
    © 2023 International Veterinary Information Service
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy