Dieffenbachia

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Alismatales

Familia: Araceae
Subfamilia: Aroideae
Tribus: Spathicarpeae
Genus: Dieffenbachia
Species: D. aglaonematifolia – D. antioquensis – D. aurantiaca – D. beachiana – D. bowmannii – D. brittonii – D. burgeri – D. cannifolia – D. concinna – D. copensis – D. cordata – D. costata – D. crebripistillata – D. daguensis – D. davidsei – D. duidae – D. elegans – D. enderi – D. fortunensis – D. fosteri – D. fournieri – D. galdamesiae – D. gracilis – D. grayumiana – D. hammelii – D. herthae – D. horichii – D. humilis – D. imperialis – D. isthmia – D. killipii – D. lancifolia – D. leopoldii – D. longispatha – D. lutheri – D. macrophylla – D. meleagris – D. nitidipetiolata – D. obliqua – D. obscurinervia – D. oerstedii – D. olbia – D. paludicola – D. panamensis – D. parlatorei – D. parvifolia – D. pittieri – D. seguine – D. standleyi – D. tonduzii – D. weberbaueri – D. weirii – D. wendlandii – D. williamsii – D. wurdackii

Name

Dieffenbachia Schott, 1829.
Typus: D. seguine
(Jacq.) Schott
Synonyms

Basionym
Seguinum Raf., Fl. Tellur. 3: 66. 1837.
Heterotypic
Maguirea A.D.Hawkes, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 75: 635. 1948.

References

Schott, H.W. 1829. Wiener Z. Kunst 1829(3): 803.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Dieffenbachia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 08. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Dieffenbachia. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 08 2018.
Tropicos.org 2018. Dieffenbachia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 08.

Vernacular names
العربية: ديفنباخيا
български: Дифенбахия
Deutsch: Dieffenbachien
Ελληνικά: Ντιεφενμπάχια
English: Dumb Cane
Esperanto: Difenbaĥio
suomi: Kirjovehkat
日本語: ディフェンバキア
lietuvių: Difenbachija
polski: Difenbachia
русский: Диффенбахия
svenska: Prickbladssläktet
Türkçe: Difenbahya

Dieffenbachia /ˌdiːfɪnˈbækiə/[2] is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Araceae. 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][3][4]

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. Its 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.[5] Dieffenbachia was named by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, director of the Botanical Gardens in Vienna, to honor his head gardener Joseph Dieffenbach (1796–1863).
Inflorescence of Dieffenbachia oerstedii
Cross section and radial section of stem

Species

The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families lists the following species:[1]

Dieffenbachia aglaonematifolia Engl. – Brazil, Paraguay; Corrientes + Misiones Provinces of Argentina
Dieffenbachia antioquensis Linden ex Rafarin – Colombia
Dieffenbachia aurantiaca Engl – Costa Rica, Panama
Dieffenbachia beachiana Croat & Grayum – Costa Rica, Panama
Dieffenbachia bowmannii Carrière – Colombia, northwestern Brazil
Dieffenbachia brittonii Engl. – Colombia
Dieffenbachia burgeri Croat & Grayum – Costa Rica
Dieffenbachia cannifolia Engl. – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Dieffenbachia concinna Croat & Grayum – Costa Rica, Nicaragua
Dieffenbachia copensis Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia cordata Engl. – Peru
Dieffenbachia costata Klotzsch ex Schott – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Dieffenbachia crebripistillata Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia daguensis Engl. – Colombia, Ecuador
Dieffenbachia davidsei Croat & Grayum – Costa Rica
Dieffenbachia duidae (Steyerm.) G.S.Bunting – Venezuela, Guyana
Dieffenbachia elegans A.M.E.Jonker & Jonker – Bolivia, northwestern Brazil, the Guianas
Dieffenbachia enderi Engl. – Colombia
Dieffenbachia fortunensis Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia fosteri Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia fournieri N.E.Br. – Colombia
Dieffenbachia galdamesiae Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia gracilis Huber – Peru, northwestern Brazil
Dieffenbachia grayumiana Croat – Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia
Dieffenbachia hammelii Croat & Grayum – Costa Rica, Nicaragua
Dieffenbachia herthae Diels – Ecuador
Dieffenbachia horichii Croat & Grayum – Costa Rica
Dieffenbachia humilis Poepp. – Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, northwestern Brazil, the Guianas
Dieffenbachia imperialis Linden & André – Peru
Dieffenbachia isthmia Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia killipii Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia lancifolia Linden & André – Colombia
Dieffenbachia leopoldii W.Bull – Colombia
Dieffenbachia longispatha Engl. & K.Krause – Panama, Colombia
Dieffenbachia lutheri Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia macrophylla Poepp. – Peru
Dieffenbachia meleagris L.Linden & Rodigas – Ecuador
Dieffenbachia nitidipetiolata Croat & Grayum – Panama
Dieffenbachia obliqua Poepp. – Peru
Dieffenbachia obscurinervia Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia oerstedii Schott – southern Mexico (Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Oaxaca, Chiapas), Central America (all 7 countries), Colombia
Dieffenbachia olbia L.Linden & Rodigas – Peru
Dieffenbachia paludicola N.E.Br. ex Gleason – northwestern Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela
Dieffenbachia panamensis Croat – Panama
Dieffenbachia parlatorei Linden & André – Colombia, Venezuela
Dieffenbachia parvifolia Engl. – northwestern Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Dieffenbachia pittieri Engl. & K.Krause – Panama
Dieffenbachia seguine (Jacq.) Schott – West Indies, south to Brazil and Bolivia (syn. Dieffenbachia maculata, Dieffenbachia picta)
Dieffenbachia shuttleworthiana Regel – Colombia
Dieffenbachia standleyi Croat – Honduras
Dieffenbachia tonduzii Croat & Grayum – Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador
Dieffenbachia weberbaueri Engl. – Peru
Dieffenbachia weirii Berk. – Colombia
Dieffenbachia wendlandii Schott – southern Mexico (Querétaro, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas) south to Panama
Dieffenbachia williamsii Croat – Bolivia
Dieffenbachia wurdackii Croat – Peru

Dieffenbachia includes a number of unresolved taxonomic names, such as Dieffenbachia amoena.[6]
Ecology

In a survey which began in 1998, researchers in Costa Rica noticed that the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio, deposited almost all (89%) of their tadpoles on the leaf axils of Dieffenbachia. As a result, the frog population fluctuated with the abundance of Dieffenbachia, especially in secondary forest. A majority of the plants were eradicated by 2012 when the surveyors returned to the same area, with only 28% of 2002 plant numbers remaining. Researchers concluded that the reason for the rapid decline in Dieffenbachia was due to increased abundance of the collared peccary Pecari tajacu in the La Selva Biological Station research area; a small pig-like animal which feeds on Dieffenbachia and other plants.[7]
Cultivation

With a minimum temperature of 5 °C (41 °F), dieffenbachia must be grown indoors in temperate areas. They need light, but filtered sunlight through a window is usually sufficient. They also need moderately moist soil, which should be regularly fertilized with a proprietary houseplant fertilizer. Leaves will periodically roll up and fall off to make way for new leaves. Yellowing of the leaves is generally a sign of problematic conditions, such as a nutrient deficiency in the soil. Dieffenbachia respond well to hot temperatures and dry climates.[8]

Dieffenbachia prefer medium sunlight, moderately dry soil and average home temperatures of 62–80 °F (17–27 °C). Most require water about twice a week.

As Dieffenbachia seguine comes from the tropical rain forest, it prefers to have moisture at its roots, as it grows all the time, it needs constant water, but with loose well aerated soils.[9]

The cultivars 'Camille'[10] and 'Tropic Snow'[11] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[12]
Toxicity

The cells of the Dieffenbachia plant contain needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals called raphides. If a leaf is chewed, these crystals can cause a temporary burning sensation and erythema. In rare cases, edema of tissues exposed to the plant has been reported. Mastication and ingestion generally result in only mild symptoms.[13] With both children and pets, contact with dieffenbachia (typically from chewing) can cause a host of unpleasant symptoms, including intense numbing, oral irritation, excessive drooling, and localized swelling.[14] However, these effects are rarely life-threatening. In most cases, symptoms are mild, and can be successfully treated with analgesic agents,[15] antihistamines,[16] or medical charcoal.[17][18] Moreover, severe cases can occur if Dieffenbachia makes prolonged contact with oral mucosal tissue. In such cases, symptoms generally include severe pain which can last for several days to weeks. Hospitalization may be necessary if prolonged contact is made with the throat, in which severe swelling has the potential to affect breathing. Gastric evacuation or lavage is "seldom"[17] indicated. In patients with exposure to toxic plants, 70% are children younger than 5 years.

Stories that Dieffenbachia is a deadly poison are urban legends.[19]

A 47 year old 9.75 foot tall Dieffenbachia house plant

A large dieffenbachia with big bright green leaves on display as a houseplant

Dieffenbachia shoot

Dieffenbachia crossview

References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. pp. 606–7. ISBN 978-0-376-03851-7.
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.
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.
"Dumb cane | plant". Encyclopedia Britannica.
"Dieffenbachia — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
McKone, Mark J.; Moore, Jonathan W.; Harbison, Christopher W.; Holmen, Ian C.; Lyons, Hillary C.; Nachbor, Kristine M.; Michalak, Julia L.; Neiman, Maurine; Nicol, Julia L.; Wheeler, George R. (2014). "Rapid collapse of a population of Dieffenbachia spp., plants used for tadpole-rearing by a poison-dart frog (Oophaga pumilio) in a Costa Rican rain forest". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 30 (6): 615–619. doi:10.1017/S0266467414000467. ISSN 0266-4674. S2CID 40616468.
MacDonald, Elvin "The World Book of House Plants" Popular Books
"Dieffenbachia seguine". plantsrescue.com. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
"RHS Plantfinder – Dieffenbachia 'Camille'". Retrieved 12 February 2018.
"RHS Plantfinder – Dieffenbachia 'Tropic Snow'". Retrieved 12 February 2018.
"AGM Plants – Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 16. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
Mrvos, Rita; Dean, Bonnie S.; Krenzelok, Edward P. (1991). "Philodendron/Dieffenbachia Ingestions: Are They a Problem?". Clinical Toxicology. 29 (4): 485–91. doi:10.3109/15563659109025745. PMID 1749055.
"Dieffenbachia". ASPCA.
Plant Poisoning, Caladium, Dieffenbachia, and Philodendron at eMedicine
GN Lucas – Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2008 – "Plant poisoning in Sri Lankan children: A hospital based prospective study" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
Lamminpää, Anne; Kinos, Marja (1996). "Plant poisonings in children". Human & Experimental Toxicology. 15 (3): 245–9. doi:10.1177/096032719601500310. PMID 8839213. S2CID 20090392.
Šnajdauf, Jiří; Mixa, Vladimír; Rygl, Michal; Vyhnánek, Martin; Morávek, Jiří; Kabelka, Zdenĕk (2005). "Aortoesophageal fistula—an unusual complication of esophagitis caused by Dieffenbachia ingestion". Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 40 (6): e29–31. doi:10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2005.03.036. PMID 15991162.

"Common Household Plant Dieffenbachia Deadly Poisonous?". snopes.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.

Sources

Schott, H. W. and Kunst, W. Z. (1829). Für Liebhaber der Botanik.