Silver sprinkles
Pilea libanensis
Also called Pilea glauca, Red stem pilea and Grey artillery plant
Houseplant · Patterned foliageLeaves the size of a pinhead and no water in them at all, so it wilts flat in a day and recovers in an hour. Treat that as the watering signal and it is easy; ignore it twice and the strands die back bare.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 5 daysKeep it moist — water at the first hint of dryness — don't wait for a dry pot.
- Light
- Medium to bright indirect
- Feed
- Every 30 days
- Humidity
- High
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out in high summer RHS H1B, to 10°C
- Size
- 0.15 m tall · 0.4 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- Tropical South America
Is it safe for pets and people?
Its genus has been checked and nothing in it is listed as harmful — but this particular species has not been listed either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
ASPCA does not name this species. It lists Pilea cadierei, Pilea microphylla and Pilea pumila, all non-toxic and none toxic, so the verdict is carried at genus level and recorded as the weaker evidence it is.
Checked against ASPCA on 2026-09-22.
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
- The whole plant lies flat over the pot rim in an afternoon, leaves and all. There is no water stored in a leaf this size — water it and it stands up within the hour, but a second collapse kills the strand back to bare stem.Collapse from drought · disorder
- Living green only at the tips of the strands, with a bald crown in the centre of the pot where the old growth has dried.Bare middle · disorder