If someone knows what type of plant this is, please let me know ASAP, as my 10 month old son has eaten a leaf and I don't know if it's poisonous. besides, I'd love to know what it is. I bought it at Walmart 3 years ago, and the pot tag simply said 3" Tropical. I haven't managed to kill it yet, it's pretty easy to keep. It likes to be watered once every 1-2 weeks. It doesn't like direct sunlight. I've looked everywhere to try to identify it, but I've never seen another one, anywhere. Amanda (Mother to Plant Eaters). Mistery plant. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/AmandaAndEddie/WebcamPictures003.jpg Leaf. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/AmandaAndEddie/WebcamPictures001.jpg Stem shot. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/AmandaAndEddie/WebcamPictures002.jpg Sorry about the picture quality. These were taken with my webcam as my digital's batteries are dead (as they usually are when you need them most!)
Tough to say for sure because of the low quality of the images but the overall appearance of the plant suggests Spathiphyllum sp., Peace Lily. If so, then this document may be of interest to you.
I agree that it's probably a Spathiphyllum. I would not worry too much, for two reasons: The highly irritant crystals in aroids such as this are probably more concentrated in fleshy parts such as stems and flowerspikes. The toxic effects are almost instantaneus, or at least only delayed by a minute at most, and affect mainly the tongue and throat. Your son would either have been screaming in pain or having difficulty breathing (from swollen throat), or both. The fact that he wasn't is probably good evidence that the leaves are not toxic. Aroids (e.g. Dieffenbachia) are some of the commonest causes of child poisonings, with the above symptoms, and almost never fatal. It would still be a good idea to elevate the plant above where a 10 month-old can reach it! Looking again at your last pic, another possibility seems to be Maranta of some sort. These have leaves more papery in texture and generally colored. As far as I know they are quite harmless.
Thank you all for your replies. I've added another picture, take with my digital camera, to my origional post. Perhaps this will help for identification. I truly appreciate your help, as I was quite concerned and wasn't able to tell poison control what he had eaten. If anyone is able to give me some info in this type of plant, I'd appreciate it as this is the only one I own that I'm (obviously) not familiar with. All of my other plants are up high or hanging. This one had relocated to the Kitchen Island, where little hands can't reach! ;)
Thank you soo much Junglekeeper for solving my mistery plant question. My son is a bit fussy, and probably should be after eating that leaf. He just started climbing on things and got high enough to reach a leaf. This issue, as you've read, has been resolved. Amanda.
The frequent over reaction to oxalate crystals in aroids is more than slightly over blown. There are many good truly scientific articles in texts about this purported "poison". Scientific sources say it is not nearly as bad as many websites, especially pet websites, would have you believe. It is certainly an irritant and can cause burning of the mouth, some swelling and other irritation. It is rarely serious. Many vegetables you normally eat, such as spinach, have the same chemical and I don't recall hearing of anyone dropping dead of "spinach poison" lately (other than the ecoli thing). One good scientific article noted in the link below indicates cooking has nothing to do with destroying the "poison". The potential "danger" is actually a chemical reaction from several chemicals. Polynesian people eat the stuff all the time, both cooked and raw. You might find this article of interest: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Calcium oxalate crystals
