Egyptian star cluster
Pentas lanceolata
Also called Pentas, Star cluster and Egyptian starflower
Houseplant · FloweringIt flowers itself to a standstill unless the dead heads come off — take the whole truss back to the first pair of leaves and another comes from the joint within a fortnight. It is a butterfly plant outdoors in summer.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 4 daysKeep it moist — water at the first hint of dryness — don't wait for a dry pot.
- Light
- Bright, with several hours of direct sun
- Feed
- Once a fortnight
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out for the summer RHS H1C, to 5°C
- Size
- 0.6 m tall · 0.5 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- East Africa and the Arabian peninsula
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Pentas. That is an absence and not a clean bill.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
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
- A bush that flowered all summer and now sits with spent brown trusses on it. Cut each dead truss back to the first pair of leaves — another comes from that joint within a fortnight, and left alone it simply stops.Stops flowering · disorder
- Dry grey speckling over the ribbed leaves and fine webbing in the joints, in dry indoor air.Red spider mite · pest