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In the wonderful world of houseplant , there are two major category of plants : those grown for their blooms and those get for their foliage . A bully example of the latter is the elephant ear plant , so named because its leaves are orotund and resemble an elephant ’s spike .
However , the name “ elephant ear flora ” does n’t apply to just one plant life or genus . alternatively , five different genera all support this name , making caring for these works rather complicated if you do n’t know what you have .
One substantive aspect of growing any houseplant is whether or not it ’s toxic to human race or pets . But this can become a very complicated question regarding the elephant spike plant .
Here are the basics of what you take to know to determine if your works is toxic or not .
Which Elephant Ear Plant Do You Own?
Before we can get into toxicity , let ’s take a mo to assay and forecast out what kind of elephant ear plant you own .
The following descriptions are general , so if you ’re in doubt , please use a reputable plant identification app or confer with an expert .
Never consume plants you have n’t identified , and always treat accidental consumption of an unidentified plant as potential poisoning .
Alocasias
Alocasia plantsare intermediate - sized elephant ear plants , ranging from 2′ to 6 ’ foot tall , and leave that range from 8″ to 35 ” inches long .
They have longsighted petiole and foliage material body ranging from marrow - mold to ellipse , always with pointed top .
Caladiums
The sevenCaladiumspecies and more than 1,000 cultivar that make up this genus are among the smaller elephant ear plant .
They typically range from 15″ to 35 ” inches tall and have rounded to oval leaves measure 6″ to 18 ” column inch long .
Colocasias
Perhaps the most popular among the elephant ears is the Colocasia , which grows 3′ to 6 ’ feet marvelous with monumental 8″ to 59 ” inch long leaves .
The leaf are roughly shield - shaped , and penis of this South Asiatic genus are grown worldwide .
Xanthosomas
This genus is n’t as wide known as Colocasias , but they put the latter to pity .
Their arrowhead - shaped foliage value a colossal 16″ to 79 ” inches long , making this due south - to - central American flora stand out wherever it ’s planted .
Is the Elephant Ear Plant Poisonous Or Toxic?
The solvent to this largely count on what genus your elephant capitulum works belongs to . Some are toxic , while others are edible , and some are even food staple .
Toxicity Of Various Elephant Ear Plants
Now that you have a basic idea of how these plants can be differentiate apart , it ’s time to look at their perniciousness towards mankind .
All four of these genera are close related and contain calcium oxalate crystals . This message can cause mouth and throat annoyance and majorly cause kidney stones when consumed in large quantities .
The effects on children are more severe than on adults , although symptoms are rarely serious enough to be life - threatening .
Of the four genus , caladium pose the highest risk , and even their saphead is an thorn .
Alocasias want to be decent prepared to neutralize the crystals , but some species are believe to have eatable corms once process .
Colocasias are a food basic in many part of the world , as are xanthosomas , and can be happen in many democratic culinary art .
In fact , genus Colocasia are used to make poi , one of the most famous mantrap in Hawai’ian culinary art .
by the way , the common name forColocasia esculentais cocoyam , and you ’ve likely already consumed the root at some point in your life-time .
Elephant Ear Toxicity To Pets
This is where the fuzz terminate , and we have a single answer for all four genus .
Due to the amount of calcium oxalate , these plants are ALL toxic to CT and firedog .
In fact , use can make dogs very ill , with vomiting , diarrhea , mouth irritation , lethargy , and many other symptom arising .
For computerized tomography , which are much smaller , consumption may test fatal .
Thus , while it ’s of import to confer with with a doctor if you or a two - legged family member has essay to consume an elephant capitulum plant , it ’s dead essential to contact your ex-serviceman if you believe a four - legged member of your family has tried to eat on these plant .
