I’ve had this houseplant for several years and have never been sure just what it is. This hasn’t been a problem until now; we’ve just added our first cat to the household and want to make sure this plant isn’t instant death if the cat nibbles on it.
It’s always had the yellow spots on the leaves. After a couple of years, it had long, woody stems with a tuft of leaves on the end which I pruned back to the less ungainly shape it is now. It sits in indirect sunlight and doesn’t require much care except occasional watering.
Thanks Scruloose and casdave. I should have mentioned that the plant has never flowered. It seems like it might be a Gold Dust variety. This one in particular looks like a close match. Unfortunately, it also looks like Gold Dust (Aucuba japonica) causes GI upset when ingested so it’ll have to be moved or replaced.
Based on the leaf shape, I doubt that it is an Aucuba japonica (the plant usually called gold dust plant,) or a Dracaena goldseffiana (another common yellow spotted house plant) but rather a Gold Dust Croton ( a variety of Codiaeum variegatum.) Crotons have a white sticky sap, which I don’t believe the others I mentioned do, so it is another good way to tell.
Ah, you’re right KayElCee, I should have looked more closely at the description of Aucuba japonica. My highly unscientific test for sap (pull off a leaf and look at the stem) proved inconclusive but Codiaeum variegatum is also noted as causing GI problems so it looks like this plant will stay in the cat-free zone.
OP answered, but, in that Fighting Mo’ Betta knowledge Thang here: Have to note here that the term “Japonica” just means Japanese origin for botanicals. It’s always the second binomial for plants, and a descriptive term. There is no species primarily termed as Japonica.
