Dumb cane
Dieffenbachia seguine
Also called Dieffenbachia and Leopard lily
Houseplant · AroidsThe sap numbs a mouth badly — the one on this list to keep well out of reach.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 8 daysDrench and drain — water the whole surface until it runs from the holes.
- Light
- Medium indirect
- Feed
- Every 30 days
- Humidity
- Average to high
- Hardiness
- Tropical — indoors, warm RHS H1A, to 15°C
- Size
- 1.5 m tall · 0.9 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- Caribbean and South America
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsToxic to pets
Affects dogs, cats. Signs: an irritated, intensely burning mouth, tongue and lips, heavy drooling, vomiting and trouble swallowing.
PeopleHarmful if eaten, and irritates skin
HandlingTake care handling it
RHS rates it TOXIC if eaten and a skin and eye irritant; wear gloves, and never cut it near your face.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-07-31.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Green specks packed on the pale, still-furled new leaf at the very top of the stem, and a sticky shine on the leaf below it.Aphid · pest
- The lowest leaves yellow and drop one after another, leaving a bare cane with a tuft on top — normal ageing sped up by too little light.Bare lower stem · disorder