Is Gazania Poisonous or Toxic? (Explained for Beginners)

Native to South Africa, gazania is a beautiful and easy-to-grow flower. It is a heat-loving, drought-tolerant plant that is well-suited for hot summers and tropical climates. Gazania flowers have shades of yellow and orange. Gazania is a must-have flower for your summer garden.

In this post, I will answer and explain a few questions about the toxicity of gazania.

Check out my other posts about gazania.

Is gazania poisonous?

Gazania is considered to be a non-poisonous and non-toxic flower. There are no recorded cases of gazania poisoning and doing harm to any human or animal. Though, scientific research is very limited about the toxicity of gazania.

It is safe to keep gazania plants around your house.

Is gazania edible?

Gazania is edible. Though, it is not recommended to do so. Ingestion of gazania can result in discomfort. The rule of thumb is not to eat anything if it is not something you’d normally eat. Flowers like gazania can have other toxic things like pesticides. So again, do not eat gazania.

Keep the young children away from gazania. It is a good idea to teach them that gazania is not something they should put in their mouth.

Gazania is however favored by cows and horses. They eat both leaves and flowers.

Important: Always check with a medical professional before eating any part of a new flower or plant.

Is gazania toxic to cats?

Gazania is non-toxic to cats. Gazania is not listed as toxic or non-toxic on ASPCA.org. As I mentioned earlier, gazania has very little research on its toxicity. So, no wonder it is not listed on ASPCA.

Cats tend to chew anything they find. So, it is generally a good idea to keep the gazania or any plant away from cats. Cats don’t try to swallow things even if they chew. So, don’t worry too much about cats eating gazania.

Always keep the cats well-fed. It will stop them from going and eating your gazania. An easy way to stop your cat from eating gazania is by planting gazania in pots and keeping them above ground.

Important: Consult a veterinarian to get specific information on specific cat breeds. Different breeds have their own behavior. So, it is recommended to meet with a vet before making final conclusions.

Is gazania toxic to dogs?

Gazania is non-toxic to dogs. There are no records of sick or dead dogs from gazania poisoning. Also, gazania is not listed on ASPCA.org.

Dogs do sometimes chew plants and flowers. It is okay if they swallow gazania sometimes. But they can get digestion problems if they have a regular habit of eating them. Dogs also tend to eat plants when they have some sickness (especially related to digestion). So, eating gazania can be a sign that your dog is sick.

The important thing here is to stop them from doing so. You can build a fence around gazania or grow them in a high-raised bed or in containers and keep them out of reach of dogs.

Is gazania deer resistant?

Gazania is not deer resistant. Since gazania is non-poisonous, deer can eat them without a problem. There is not much information available regarding the gazania deer resistance.

So, it is better to plant them where there are no deer. If you have a deer problem, then you can put fences around them. Just make sure that the fences are high enough to stop deer from getting in. Also, plant with other deer-resistant plants (ex: Zinnia). They will deter deer away, protecting your gazania.

Is gazania rabbit resistant?

No, gazania is not rabbit resistant. Rabbits will eat gazania without a problem. Rabbits always go for easy meals. Gazanias have tender leaves and no protection from rabbits whatsoever.

An easy way to fix the problem is to use an iron mesh fence around your gazania plants. A height of 2 feet or 60 cm fence is enough to stop the rabbits. Or you can simply use high-raised beds or pots.

Can tortoises eat gazania?

Tortoises can and will eat gazania. If you want to protect your gazania from tortoises, just keep a little bit above the ground. Tortoises can’t jump or climb. 😀

But if you want to feed gazania to your pet tortoise, then you can. Gazania is non-toxic and can be great food for desert tortoises.

Gazania is a beautiful and easy-to-grow flower that is non-poisonous. If you find this article helpful, please share it with your friends.