What kind of plant is this and will it murder my cats?

[matt_mcl]

http://www.metrodemontreal.com/plant.jpg

A former roommate just moved back in and brought with him a plant. It's currently in quarantine in my room until we can figure out what kind it is and whether it's safe for the cats. Any help would be appreciated.

[anyrae]

I wouldn't worry too much, that plant looks as if IT has been poisoned! :)

[YeW]

Hi All -

It looks kind of Dracena ish? Hard to tell from the photo if you could get us a photo of the whole plant I might be able to give u a better idea.

Most poisonous plants taste fairly bad and cats (which aren't normally reknowned for their herbivory) are smart critters.

HTH -

[matt_mcl]

Here's another photo of the plant:

http://www.metrodemontreal.com/plant2.jpg

And cats DO eat plants, a great deal. They've been eating my statice since I first got them.

[rjk]

That's "Dracaena". and they are supposed to be toxic to cats.

[Una Persson]

It does look like a Striped Dracaena, which is poisonous to cats.

http://www.dracaena.com/VarietyDetails.asp?PLANT_ID=24

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

[tomndebb]

Matt's photos show a "corn stalk plant" (Dracaena fragrans massangeana).

The dracaena mentioned in Anthracite's second link is the "Dracaena Palm," however, I have no idea what specific plant a "Dracaena Palm" is supposed to be.

This site (http://www.sniksnak.com/plants.html) says that all the dracaenas are safe except the Dracaena marginata (or "Madagascar dragon tree") that is rather palmlike in appearance. (This picture of a dragon palm (http://www.danheller.com/images/Palau/Kayak/Slideshow/img17.html) is, indeed, a dracaena marginata.)
The Cornell Unuversity Poisonous plants (http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/alphalist.html) page does not show any dracaenas.
This site (http://www.tcainc.org/newsletter/articles/nov96.html#plants) lists no dracaenas among plants toxic to cats.
This veterinarian's site (http://dcn.davis.ca.us/vme/DrSue/poisplnt.html) lists only the "dragon tree" as toxic.
This (now defunct) site (http://web.archive.org/web/19970607073253/www.dlcwest.com/~createdforyou/petsplant.html) omits dracaenas from their warning list.
And this U.S. Army site (http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/ento/PLNTHOUS.HTM) omits dracaenas.

I don't recall ever hearing that a "corn stalk plant" was poisonous. (I could see it being confused with the toxic Dieffenbachia. They look nothing alike when mature, but both are sometimes sold as little more than a section of stalk that can be rooted.)

[matt_mcl]

Great, how about daffodils? (The same site linked to above condemned them, but given what they had to say about dracaenas, I'll question that too, what the hey.)

[Una Persson]

Originally posted by tomndebb
The dracaena mentioned in Anthracite's second link is the "Dracaena Palm," however, I have no idea what specific plant a "Dracaena Palm" is supposed to be.
There is more than one Dracaena in my second link.

[matt_mcl]

Having looked at the sites, I see most of them list daffodils as dangerous, but one lists daffodils under "dangerous bulbs". Are indeed only the bulbs dangerous?