TempoLife › Features › House plants: care and pet toxicity › lily-of-the-valley
Lily of the valley: toxicity, first aid and care
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis): severe for cats, severe for dogs, severe for small children. The toxic principle, the signs, what to do, and how to grow it.
Cats: SevereDogs: SevereChildren: SevereEmergency risk
Also sold as: Piibeleht, kielo, may bells.
This is a reference table, not a diagnosis and not veterinary or medical advice. It cannot tell you how much of a plant matters for a particular child or a particular animal — that depends on body weight, on the part eaten and on how long ago. If a person or an animal has eaten part of a plant, phone the poison information centre or a clinician; do not wait for symptoms, and do not make anyone vomit unless you are told to.
What is in it
Toxic principle: Cardiac glycosides (convallatoxin) — Cardiac glycosides.
Small plant, serious chemistry: convallatoxin and its relatives act on the heart in the same way as digitalis. Leaves, flowers, the red autumn berries and the creeping rhizome all carry it, and so does the water a picked posy has stood in — the vase, not the plant, is a repeatedly reported route in households with cats.
What it looks like when it goes wrong
Vomiting and drooling, then a slow or irregular heartbeat, weakness, disorientation and, in significant exposures, collapse. Children are most often exposed through the berries, which are conspicuous and sweet-looking in late summer.
What to do
Phone the poison centre or a veterinary clinic for any real ingestion, and take the plant with you. A single berry mouthed and spat out by a child is a phone call, not a panic; a chewed handful of leaves, or a cat that has drunk the vase water, needs to be seen.
| Country | Poison information centre | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | Mürgistusteabekeskus (Health Board) | 16662 | Round the clock; 112 for an emergency |
| Finland | Myrkytystietokeskus (HUS) | 0800 147 111 | Free, round the clock |
| Latvia | Saindēšanās un zāļu informācijas centrs | 67042473 | Round the clock |
| Sweden | Giftinformationscentralen | 010-456 67 00 | Non-urgent advice; 112 in an emergency |
| Norway | Giftinformasjonen | 22 59 13 00 | Round the clock |
| Denmark | Giftlinjen (Bispebjerg Hospital) | 82 12 12 12 | Round the clock |
Anywhere in the European Union, 112 reaches emergency services and can put you through. Lithuania's poison information bureau (Apsinuodijimų kontrolės ir informacijos biuras) publishes its own round-the-clock line; if you do not have it to hand, use 112. For an animal, your own veterinary clinic or its out-of-hours service is the first call — human poison centres do not advise on animals in every country.
How to grow it
| Condition | What it wants |
|---|---|
| Light | Shade and part shade; it colonises under trees |
| Water | Moist, humus-rich soil; tolerates dry shade once established |
| Temperature | Fully hardy; native across the region |
A woodland ground-cover that spreads by rhizome and, given shade and leaf mould, will eventually take the whole bed. Plant "pips" in autumn. It is genuinely useful under trees where little else thrives, and genuinely difficult to remove afterwards, so choose the site once.
What it gets confused with
The spring leaves are the classic and dangerous double of wild garlic — same woodland, same weeks, similar broad ribbed blade. Crush a leaf: wild garlic smells unmistakably of garlic, lily of the valley smells green and of nothing in particular. It is also Finland's national flower and grows wild across Estonia, so this is a lookalike people meet on an ordinary walk rather than in a specialist garden.
A plant that is not on the toxic lists
If you are deciding what to keep in a home with a cat, a dog or a small child, this one fills a similar role and is not flagged by the veterinary services.
Others that work the same way
Cardiac glycosides — these behave alike, and what you would do about them is alike too.
Foxglove
Cardiac glycosides (digitoxin, digoxin)
Oleander
Cardiac glycosides (oleandrin)
Kalanchoe
Bufadienolides (cardiac glycosides)
Source: Royal Horticultural Society — potentially harmful garden plants · checked 2026-09-06
Care guidance is standard horticultural practice for a cool-temperate northern climate. Poison-centre numbers are listed on the hub page and are worth confirming against your own country's health service.
Frequently asked questions
Is lily of the valley toxic to cats?
The veterinary lists rate it "severe" for cats and "severe" for dogs. The toxic principle is cardiac glycosides (convallatoxin). Small plant, serious chemistry: convallatoxin and its relatives act on the heart in the same way as digitalis. Leaves, flowers, the red autumn berries and the creeping rhizome all carry it, and so does the water a picked posy has stood in — the vase, not the plant, is a repeatedly reported route in households with cats.
What should I do if my dog eats lily of the valley?
Phone the poison centre or a veterinary clinic for any real ingestion, and take the plant with you. A single berry mouthed and spat out by a child is a phone call, not a panic; a chewed handful of leaves, or a cat that has drunk the vase water, needs to be seen.
Is lily of the valley dangerous for a small child?
The verdict for a child who chews or swallows part of it is "severe". Vomiting and drooling, then a slow or irregular heartbeat, weakness, disorientation and, in significant exposures, collapse.
How do you care for lily of the valley?
Light: Shade and part shade; it colonises under trees. Water: Moist, humus-rich soil; tolerates dry shade once established. Temperature: Fully hardy; native across the region. A woodland ground-cover that spreads by rhizome and, given shade and leaf mould, will eventually take the whole bed.
What is lily of the valley confused with?
The spring leaves are the classic and dangerous double of wild garlic — same woodland, same weeks, similar broad ribbed blade. Crush a leaf: wild garlic smells unmistakably of garlic, lily of the valley smells green and of nothing in particular.
Keep track of the things that matter at home
TempoLife is a free habit tracker for sleep, food and movement — the ordinary daily record, in one place, on your phone.