Hi, all. This is my first post; I hope this is the right place. I'm about to adopt a kitten, and I don't know the names of the five house-plants I have, so I can't tell whether they are likely to poison my new friend. I've taken a few shots of each plant, large and small. Hopefully someone would be willing to tell me the names of these so I can look up whether they'd hurt her. Thanks in advance! --Kayti http://gallery.sheer.us/main.php?g2_itemId=37123 has three shots each of the first three plants -- these are thumbnails which will expand when clicked on. http://gallery.sheer.us/main.php?g2_itemId=37123&g2_page=2 has three photos of the fourth plant and four of the fifth. I got them all in grocery stores, and most weren't labelled. The ones that were I no longer remember, exc ept that one was some sort of ivy.
Hey kayti. The first 3 plants are Dracaena sanderiana or Lucky bamboo. I can't imagine it poisoning your kitten. The next lot of photos appear to be an Aglaonema or a variegated Spathiphyllum, both of which are aroids, I believe. You might want to check out the new "Aroid" forum. The third lot of photos could be a ficus?? Ed
Well, that's good news about the bamboo. :) Any idea about the photos shown in the second link? There are two other plants' worth of photos there... Thank you so much for clearing the bamboo!
My mistake kayti, I only looked at the first link. The first 3 photos on the second link ( I hope I'm not getting confused lol) is another Dracaena. Draecena warneckii Lemon and Lime but I'm not sure what the second plant is though... Ed
There are five plants in sixteen photos shown through the two links. Call the plants A, B, C, D and E. The layout of photos is then: Link One: A A A B B B C C C Link Two: D D D E E E E I think you are saying that plant "A" is bamboo, one plant, three photos. I think you are identifying "B" as an aroid of some sort and thinking "C" could be a ficus. I'm pretty sure "E" is an ivy and I've heard that some ivys are dangerous to cats. I just wondered if you hadn't looked at the second link -- http://gallery.sheer.us/main.php?g2_itemId=37132 -- because you didn't mention ivy at all. Looking at this link, do you know what kind of plant the plant above the ivy is? Thanks so much for your help. I guess it would have been less confusing had I just posted one picture per plant. My apologies.
Although well meaning, many animal websites automatically indicate a lot of plants are "poisonous". The "poison" is something you likely eat every day, calcium oxalate crystals. Now, if you eat it in large quantity, it can certainly harm you, or your pets. But in a single bite it is only going to make your mouth burn. Not comfortable, but not deadly either. It works the same way for your pet. The exception is Dieffenbachia. That one has a combination of chemical agents that can potentially do some damage. It is commonly called "dumb cane" because it can cause you to loose the ability to speak. And it has killed a very few people. That would not be a good one for a pet to chew on. Animals figure out real fast, once they get a bad taste in their mouths, to leave the plants alone. This link will give you a great deal more in-depth explanation if you want to get into the subject deeper. There is information in my link from scientific sources and a couple of MD's. http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Calcium oxalate crystals.html But I promise you, if you eat spinach and many other vegetables, you have eaten calcium oxalate crystals. If you've ever attended a Hawaiian or Caribbean feast, you've eaten a bunch of it!
'A' is a Dracaena, but - for clarification - it is NOT a bamboo, that's an error in post #2. Bamboos are grasses, Dracaenas are a genus of shrubs and trees more related to Agaves. 'C' is Ficus benjamina (Weeping Fig). 'E' is Hedera helix (Common Ivy).
G'day Michael....it wasn't an error I was simply giving kayti the botanical name and the common name : ) Ed
