Do Deer Eat Arisaemae?

[Jeanne Hannah]

In a message dated 2/10/99 11:30:39 AM Pacific Standard Time,
awootten at NRAO.EDU writes:

<< A friend was advising me on a  very short list of deer-tolerant plants but
she didn't know whether they  ate arisaemae.  Does anyone on the list? >>

My experience is that animals instinctively never eat plants that are
poisonous.  [That's one of the reasons that I plant daffodils rather than
tulips.]  Arisaema are certainly poisonous to humans, and I believe that
includes every part of the plants.  I believe, therefore, that animals,
including deer, will not eat it.  Further, my sister-in-law, who lives in an
area heavily populated by deer that eat almost anything she plants, has great
clumps of naturally occurring A. tryphyllum.

Jeanne Hannah
USDA Zone 5b