Wisteria spp. is toxic to cats, dogs and horses. The reported severity is mild. Also known as Wisterias, Chinese Wisteria and American Wisteria.
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Ireland has no animal poison service for owners. Call your veterinarian. An Irish veterinarian can consult the Veterinary Poisons Information Service in the United Kingdom.
Giftinformationscentralen stopped answering questions about animals on 1 July 2018. Call your veterinarian or an animal hospital.
Vomiting Diarrhea Depression
The color of each symptom follows the severity scale above.
Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae). The genus includes four species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and north of Iran. They were later introduced to England, France, Germany and various other countries in Europe. Some species are popular ornamental plants. The genus name is also used as the English name, and may then be spelt 'wistaria'.
All parts of the plant contain a saponin called wisterin, which is toxic if ingested, and may cause dizziness, confusion, speech problems, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhea and collapse. There is debate over whether the concentration outside of the seeds is sufficient to cause poisoning. Some Japanese sources assure that parts of the W. floribunda can be eaten at certain stages if prepared properly and in moderate amounts: young shoots and leaves may be eaten after blanching or boiling before serving with rice or fried while seeds may be consumable if harvested between July to September when they are not bitter. Nevertheless, wisteria seeds outside that caveat have caused cases of poisoning in children and pets of many countries, producing mild to severe gastroenteritis and other effects.
Also recorded as Wisteria.
Countries with the most wild observations, from GBIF data.