Identification: Hi from Ireland... Who is this plant?

hi all,

Greetings from Ireland. I picked up a nice desk plant the other day but I have no idea who it is? It was not labelled other than "house plant".

It gets plenty of light and I only gave it a little sip of water as the soil is already not dry.

Thanks

 

Dieffenbachia

HTH
Chris

 

No way!? For real? wikipedia says

"The Dieffenbachia is considered one of the deadliest plants on earth.The cells of the Dieffenbachia plant contain needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals called raphides. If a leaf is chewed, these crystals cause a burning sensation in the mouth and throat; swelling can occur along with a temporary inability to speak, and eventually death. Chewing results in death due to swelling of the throat that blocks the airway. Slaves were supposedly sometimes punished by having dieffenbachia put into their mouths [1]. Young children (at the age where they regularly put things into their mouths) are at risk of suffocation and death if they eat or chew on Dieffenbachia leaves."

Do I have the deadliest plant in the office? seriously. :)

 

HYPE, yes it's toxic if ingested but most of us are bright enough
not to do such things. It's one of the most popular houseplants
in North America and I haven't seen anyone ever get sick from it.
BTW you ingest Calcium Oxalate crystals every time you eat spinach
or Rhubarb!
Regards
Chris

 

yes it is true what you read about the plant... it is also nicknamed Dumbcane .. for the reason of makeing the mouth swell and not being able to talk ..
but it is only harmfull if chewed on ... I think your co workers are smart enough not to chew on your plant ...lol.. :)

Marion

 

All too often, Wikipedia isn't a trustworthy source of information!

 

Just know, your plant can reach ceiling height if you let it!

 

Firstly @ Marn,

You should meet my co-workers. I think I'll put a yellow post-it on the plant "don't eat me"... just in case :D

Secondly @ Bluewing

Ceiling height! Thats cool! I'll keep it in the same pot for now and see what sort of rate it grows at.


Thanks for your replies everyone. Very helpful indeed!

 

Might that not encourage them to try?? ;-)

 

No comment ;)

 

If your coworkers get too close to it, tell them to get on with orking cows instead :o)

 

Had to look that one up.

cow orker: n.

[Usenet] n. fortuitous typo for co-worker, widely used in Usenet, with perhaps a hint that orking cows is illegal. This term was popularized by Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert) but already appears in the January 1996 version of the scary devil monastery FAQ, and has been traced back to a 1989 sig block.

 

mcgon,

They can grow tall and they can grow wide too! Enjoy!

 

The best records anyone can uncover suggests that a single individual has been killed in the U.S. by this plant. More have suffered from the temporary loss of their vocal chords. Saltcedar is quite correct with the information posted, and the plant does contain calcium oxalate crystals which contain several raphides. But so do many vegetables we eat all the time. In the West Indies and Polynesia plants containing high levels of both calcium oxalate crystals and raphides are eaten as a staple diet. In the case of Dieffenbachia it is the combination of chemicals in the plant that makes it somewhat more nasty IF YOU EAT IT! There are approximately 500 hospital trips each year in North America due to this or related species but the risk of death is remote. For some odd reason many websites have inflated the numbers and the risk.

The solution? Don't eat it!

This quote can be found on the scientific site www.eFloras.org, "Araceae contain crystals of calcium oxalate, which are often cited as causing the intense irritation experienced when handling or consuming the raw plant tissue of many genera in the family. This supposition is contradicted by the fact that although irritation generally is not produced by properly cooked plants, the crystals remain after heating. Other compounds must therefore be involved with causing this reaction. Studies of Dieffenbachia demonstrated that a proteolytic enzyme, as well as other compounds, are responsible for the severe irritation caused by this plant and that raphides of calcium oxalate do not play a major role (J. Arditti and E. Rodriguez 1982). Whether irritation is caused by enzymes or crystals, that aspect of Araceae has resulted in aroid genera being included in many lists of poisonous plants (e.g., K. F. Lampe and M. A. McCann 1985; G. A. Mulligan and D. B. Munro 1990; K. D. Perkins and W. W. Payne 1978)."

 

I'd say listen to PhotoPro - Dieffs aren't at all the most toxic plant you could be growing in your office.... Check out Oleander if you're curious as to what a really toxic plant looks like.

If your coworkers are not smarter than puppies, then they deserve to lose the use of their vocal cords for a while....

 

My plant is growing quite fast! I can already see that it has started to turn/lean its leaves towards the window! :) Would re-potting be required at some stage? Can I manage its size by NOT re-potting?

Cheers

 

You will eventually need to re-pot it, and you should be able to manage size by not repotting, HOWEVER if you do this it will get rootbound and grumpy. Better to let it get big, re-pot it, and start taking cuttings from it.

Propagating your Dieff is really really really easy - just allow the cut portions to dry, then stick them in a new pot. If you really like the jungle-cubicle look, you could have a Dieff forest in about a year. Alternatley, your cow orking friends could have little clones of your plant for themselves, and not have to chew on yours.

And if you want it to keep a nice, symmetrical growth, I'd advocate turning it every so often so that the leaves don't all tilt in one direction.

 

Thanks Lorax!!! Thats exactly the information I wanted to know! The plant has already grown at least 2 inches in the 2 weeks I have it!!!! Plus the leaves and main body of the plant have all tilted to face the brightest part of the office. I've rotated it around 180 degrees now so it should straighten up. I'm really fascinated at how fast its growing. I might post another pic in a week and get some advice on when and how to repot it. (and also how to take cuttings, from where etc and how to do it). no rush for that info yet though, I think I have a week or 2 or 3.
How often should I water it? I only watered it once. The soil is dry to touch but still has the consistency of fresh elasticy soil, so its not dried out at all, just not damp.

May I also just say, how cool I think it is to have a plant that looks different when I come in on a Monday morning! :D It really has the feel of a living changing thing. I imagine most plants don't change appearance so rapidly (or maybe I just have never paid attention before)...

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I can see myself really getting into this now. To be able to grow another Dieff from this one would be class!

 

When the soil feels like that, it's time to water again. Dieffs are tropical - they like moisture but not wet feet.

If it's growing that fast, you're doing something right - keep it up!

 

Brilliant! I'll give it this weekend and post another image on Monday. If it continues this way it should be very obvious the changes from picture one. Maybe they keep them cool or in dark in the garden centres to stunt their growth, because this one is flying since I bought it. If it grew this fast in the shop, they would need to change the stock every 2 weeks! :)

Cheers

 

Cool, yes, less than full light, and a touch water-starved as well. When they finally find friendly people to live with, they perk right up, as yours has.

In the wild here, they grow almost so fast you can see it happening, and only slow down after they're about a meter tall.

 

hi everyone,

Here is an update on my plant, and a question...

I think it is doing ok and has defintely increased in size since I got it. Seems to be alot more new growth (small all green leaves) in the bottom half of it. Some of the bigger leaves look slightly wilted at the ends? plus one has some brown dry disease, and some small ones have this too. see pics. I have given it water a few times (at least once a week, maybe twice) and made sure it doesn't dry out but is not damp to touch etc.
It's not located directly under any air con etc. gets medium light, some natural some from florescent office light tubes. anyone any tips on how its doing or what I shoud do to help..

thanks again

 

From the photos the plant looks perfectly normal. I'd say you are doing it right already. No plant is ever going to be perfect. You will always find some leaf damage despite how well you care for the specimen. Expecting a perfect specimen is not within the realm of possibility although many of us try. You should see a few of these in the wild! Compared, your plant is quite healthy as far as can be seen from a photographs.

 

Thanks very much for that feedback photopro. I don't know much about it yet so your remarks are much appreciated. I'm happy to know that some leaf marks like this are ok and nothing to be concerned about. I'll keep on going the way I am for a now so and see how things develop. Its pretty exciting and makes my job more interesting having a changing plant on my desk each day. lol seriously!

 

As Lorax pointed out, and Beth lives in Ecuador, you ain't seen nothin' yet!