Dieffenbachia

Dieffenbachia
Dieffenbachia oerstedii at Chicago Botanic Garden
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Aroideae
Tribe: Dieffenbachieae
Genus: Dieffenbachia
Schott
Range of the genus Dieffenbachia.
Synonyms[1]
  • Seguinum Raf.
  • Maguirea A.D.Hawkes

Dieffenbachia /ˌdiːfɪnˈbækiə/,[2] commonly known as dumb cane or leopard lily, is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Araceae.[3] It is native to the New World Tropics from Mexico and the West Indies south to Argentina. Some species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants, especially as houseplants, and have become naturalized on a few tropical islands.[1][4][5]

Dieffenbachia is a perennial herbaceous plant with straight stem, simple and alternate leaves containing white spots and flecks, making it attractive as indoor foliage. Species in this genus are popular as houseplants because of their tolerance of shade. The English names, dumb cane and mother-in-law's tongue (also used for Sansevieria species) refer to the poisoning effect of raphides, which can cause temporary inability to speak.[6] Dieffenbachia was named by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, director of the Botanical Gardens in Vienna, to honor his head gardener Joseph Dieffenbach (1790–1863).

Inflorescence of Dieffenbachia oerstedii
Cross section and radial section of stem
  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. pp. 606–7. ISBN 978-0-376-03851-7.
  3. ^ "Dieffenbachia, Dumb Cane, Leopard Lily Plant - How to Care and Propagate". 17 March 2017.
  4. ^ Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1–560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  5. ^ Croat, Thomas B. (December 2004). "Revision of Dieffenbachia (Araceae) of Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 91 (4): 668–772. JSTOR 3298554.
  6. ^ "Dumb cane | plant". Encyclopedia Britannica. 9 July 2024.