A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Is this a type of 'Dieffenbachia' or 'Dumb Canes'...

I just got 2 tree frogs.
here's one
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372951@N03/3109960250/



I went to home depot today looking for a plant to put in their habitat.
I picked out this one with a sturdy stock and strong spines on the leaves.

BUT IS IT THE POISONOUS DIEFFENBACHIA?? / DUMB CANE???

The plastic pot it came in says "assorted foliage"
there was no ID tag in the soil

is this poisonous?
will its' sap hurt my froggies?

here are a couple pictures of the plant

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372951@N03/3109131627/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372951@N03/3109962814/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372951@N03/3109131025/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372951@N03/3109129769/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372951@N03/3109961422/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372951@N03/3109128103/

Pleeeeease help.

should I return it?

As tree frogs are not plant eaters, I don't think this will hurt them at all. I looked up dumb cane and it is not all that poisonous to humans.
What are you feeding your frogs?
And welcome to the site.

Well no, they won't eat it, but they will be climbing on it.

and the tree frog sites say that the 'Dieffenbachia' or 'Dumb Canes' secrete a poisonous sap.



My frogs are eating little crickets. They hunt them at night. Choosing a prey, stalking them, then jumping and chomping down.

So is it a form/type of 'Dieffenbachia' or the 'dumb cane?'

Yes, that is a Dieffenbachia
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/dumbcane.html

shoot!!!


Thanks Bill

Dieffenbachia (and almost all plants in the Arum family) has sap that contains calcium oxalate crystals. There is a stinging sensation if you chew the plants because the crystals are small and sharp (like microscopic needles) and will get lodged along the throat when its chewed. The Nazi's used the plant as a form of torture.

I would not worry about the plant being poisonous but I would worry about what pesticides have been sprayed on that plant. Lots of those foliage plants are spray with some rather toxic pesticides prior to shipment. Also any plants grown in the south and then brought up north will either have pesticides incorporated into their media or pesticides drenches into their media prior to shipment to meet with federal fire ant quarantine laws.