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 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 is, indeed, a dracaena marginata.)
The Cornell Unuversity Poisonous plants page does not show any dracaenas.
This site lists no dracaenas among plants toxic to cats.
This veterinarian's site lists only the "dragon tree" as toxic.
This (now defunct) site omits dracaenas from their warning list.
And this U.S. Army site 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?