# WARNING: beware the plant Kalanchoe daigremontiana



## katt (Nov 25, 2008)

mods, feel free to move this post to better location if needbe, not sure where it should go.

plant name is kalanchoe daigremontiana, commonly called maternity plant or devil's backbone. its appearance is rather unusual. the plant is one stalk with rough edged arrow tip looking leaves. each leaf grows many baby plants that will fall off the leaf and land on whatever surface

here is some information on it i got from http://www.scib.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=230&p_type=all&p_sci=sci&p_x=px

Rabbits 
General symptoms of poisoning:
breathing, rapid
opisthotonos
paralysis


Notes on poisoning: 
A pet rabbit ate three-quarters of a leaf and became depressed and torpid; it subsequently experienced rapid breathing and teeth grinding. It fell down when attempting to walk. Paralysis followed. An injection of atropine was administered, and the rabbit recovered fully within 9 h (Williams and Smith 1984). 
References:
Williams, M. C., Smith, M. C. 1984. Toxicity of _Kalanchoe_ spp. to chicks. Am. J. Vet. Res., 45: 543-546. 

a lady at work knows how i love houseplants, she brought some in for me, many were herbs in pots that she kept indoors for winter. one plant, that was not an herb was a plant she called a "parenthood plant", she told me that wasn't the right name for it, but she couldn't remember its real name, and that her mother used to call them a parenthood plant because it produced little baby plants on each leaf. not knowing anything about the toxicity of this plant i placed it well out of reach of winnie, untill i could varify it was okay. withing about 2 weeks it got a nasty case of root-rot, i decided to just toss that plant as it was already mostly dead. it was house cleaning day andi was on a rampage of cleaning. placed the plant in a plastic bag, set it by the trash can, and went on to clean. my mistake, i thought winnie was locked in her cage, i left my bedroom door open, and completely forgot. started to vaccum the floors, didn't hear winnie leave my room, get into the bag, and eat 4 to 6 large leaves from the dying plant i had yet to take out to the outdoor trash can. not realizing what happened (or even that winnie was out) i layed down on the couch to take a nap, put a movie in and fell sleep. about 1/2 hour later winnie comes and lays with me, i am shocked that she is out, but we cuddle back in and both take a nap. 3 hours later i wake up, she is laying rather lathargic. i began to get worried. i check her ears, they are like ice, her breathing is labored, her heart rate is physically staggered, and her eyes aren't reacting to light or movement. i set her on the ground, she doesn't get up or move, just lays there, i try giving her water, she won't take it, so i start forcing her water, slowly she perks up and starts moving. she walk around like she is drunk, falls over every few steps. my roommate gets home. at this point i am hysterical. jessica searches that house looking for something, anything that will tell us what is going on. she finds that chewed plant withing a few minutes. she takes over watching winnie, i call the on-call vet (it was after hours) he has never heard of the plant before, can't find anything, and is extremly unhelpfull. i tell him i will call him right back and call my mom (i have no internet) to look up online and find something, anything about this plant. it takes her, my brother, and my sister about an hour to find the real name or the plant. i call the vet back, give him the latin name of the plant, and a description. he still cannot find a single thing in any of his medical books. tells me to keep her warm, push the liquids, and hope for the best. tells me he doesn't have the knowledge on rabbits to "guess" what to do. i hang up and freak out, we surround her in warm blankets, place a heating pad over her on low, and search thru the kitchen for anything that she will eat. we try greens, pellet food, bread moist with water, nothing, as a last resort we try craisins, she slowly eats one, then 2. i get an idea (it is now around 1 am). i soak craisins in hot water, then take a little of the water and pour it over pellet food, make a slurry and she begins to gobble the food down. after about 15 mintues of her eating she starts to perk up but still isn't acting right. all she wants to do is lay there. i am trusting enought that she will now be okay and situate her on my bed next to me and attempt to get some sleep (i had to work at 6 am, so i had to get up at 4:45 am, i needed at least a LITTLE sleep) we both fall instantly alseep. she wakes up and moves a little about every 20 minutes, therefor, i wake up and check her about every 20 minutes.

winnie is okay now, but i want to warn everyone of this plant, be carefull. i am normally freakishly carefull with house plants, this one goof-up almost cost me my bunny!


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## Flashy (Nov 25, 2008)

I'm so glad Winnie is ok! That's such a relief. How scary for you to have to go through all of that. I hope someone else heeds this warning, and can benefit from the horrid trauma you al went through.


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## paul2641 (Nov 25, 2008)

Thank god we are not a plant family. I am really sorry to hear that story. Wasn't a very good present anyway a dieing plant who wants such a thing?


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## Sabine (Nov 25, 2008)

I'm glad your bunny is ok. Googled the name and looked at the picture of the plant - thank God it's not the one my daughter ate today


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## myheart (Nov 25, 2008)

I also had to look it up and found it on Wickapedia... My Grandmother had one of those plants, but she called it a Mexican Hat plant (another name listed on the site). I remember all of the little baby plants that had lined the leaves with the roots already beginning to grow. She was always mad about the babies growing the soils of the other plants under or near it. She used to have tons of plants, but who knew she had such a poisonous one growing in her plant room.

Thanks so much for the heads-up on this one.

myheart


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## Maureen Las (Nov 25, 2008)

Thanks you for that story!

it is awarning to all of us to be careful with houseplants. 

I am so glad that Winnie pulled through with your careful attention..


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## gentle giants (Nov 26, 2008)

What a relief that Winnie is ok! That must have been so scary, and what a lousy vet that was to have been so unhelpful! Thank heaven for my brown thumb, I never keep houseplants, LOL.


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## BSAR (Nov 26, 2008)

Thanks for the warning! I am glad that Winnie is ok!


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## FallingStar (Nov 26, 2008)

Oh wow! :shock:Thanks for the heads up on this plant.

I'm glad the Winnie is ok after eating it! 


Karlee


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