Dieffenbachia
Dieffenbachia, a genus of perennial plants native to tropical America and the West Indies. The plants have stout, erect stems, which support clusters of large, oval leaves. The leaves often have bold yellow or white markings. Dieffenbachias are from two to six feet (60 cm to 1.8m) tall. The leaves are from 10 to 24 inches (25 to 60 cm) long. Tiny flowers bloom on a fleshy spike, or spadix. The plant's sap is poisonous; chewing on a leaf causes the throat to swell, resulting in temporary loss of speech and difficulty in breathing. This symptom is the source of the plant's common name, dumb cane.
There are 30 species of dieffenbachias. Several species are used as houseplants or greenhouse plants. The most popular are the giant dumb cane and the common dumb cane.
Dieffenbachias belong to the arum family, Araceae. The giant dumb cane is Dieffenbachia amoena; the common dumb cane, D. maculata.