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Dumbcane

Dieffenbachia seguine

Also called Dumb Cane, Dumbplant, Mother In Law Plant, Seguin Tuftroot, Tuftroot

Dumbcane
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0

Dumbcane is a cane-like tropical shrub in the arum family, widely grown as a houseplant for its large variegated leaves. It does best in warm, humid, bright indirect light, kept out of direct sun.

Family
Araceae (Arum family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Water when the top few centimetres of soil feel dry; avoid soggy soil.
Soil
Well-draining, peat-based houseplant mix.
Temperature
18–29 °C; protect below 15 °C.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: The whole plant, especially the sap, contains calcium oxalate crystals that cause burning, swelling of the mouth and throat, and in severe cases breathing difficulty.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
Caribbean to S. Trop. America
Climate
wet tropical

About

Dieffenbachia seguine, widely known as dumbcane, as well as leopard lily or tuftroot, is a species of Dieffenbachia, a flowering aroid plant of the family Araceae (the arums). It is native to the neotropical realm of the Americas, from extreme southern Mexico and Belize and much of Central America, as well as the northern half of South America (it is typically absent in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay). It is found on many Caribbean islands and territories, including Cuba, Grand Bahama, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Îles des Saintes, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Kitts and Trinidad and Tobago. D. seguine is also found on the Galápagos islands of Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal, where it was likely introduced by humans.

How to grow it

Dieffenbachia seguine is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate shade gardens and as a potted house plant. Cultivars emphasize different patterns of variegation.

Other Dieffenbachia plants

Dieffenbachia longispatha · Dumb Canes

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dieffenbachia seguine by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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