Chinese evergreen vs Prayer plant

Aglaonema commutatum · Maranta leuconeura

Pet safety: Prayer plant is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Chinese evergreen is toxic (insoluble calcium oxalates). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Why these two get mixed up

Prayer plant is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to Chinese evergreen, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum) — **Chinese evergreen** — Aglaonema commutatum. Photograph by Kurt Stüber [1], Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

Prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura) — **Prayer plant** — Maranta leuconeura. Photograph by Kurt Stüber [1], Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

	Chinese evergreen	Prayer plant
Scientific name	Aglaonema commutatum	Maranta leuconeura
Family	Araceae	Marantaceae
Light floor	Low	Low
Water	9–16 days	4–8 days
Humidity floor	40%	50%
Mature height	12–36 in	6–12 in
Habit	upright	spreading
Growth rate	slow	moderate
Difficulty	Easy	Moderate
Toxic to pets	Yes	No
Typical price	$15–60	$12–35

Highlighted cells are where the two actually differ. Everything else they share.

The differences that matter

Pet safety

This is the difference that matters most. Prayer plant is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Chinese evergreen is toxic (insoluble calcium oxalates). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Mature size

Chinese evergreen reaches about 36 inches; Prayer plant tops out near 12. Buying the wrong one for a shelf means rehoming it in a year.

Watering

Prayer plant wants water every 4–8 days, Chinese evergreen every 9–16. On one shared watering schedule, one of them drowns.

Difficulty

Chinese evergreen scores 1 of 5, Prayer plant scores 3. unfussy about light, but crisps at the edges below about 50% humidity and reacts badly to hard tap water.

Habit

Chinese evergreen grows upright; Prayer plant grows spreading. That decides where each one physically works.

Not even related

Chinese evergreen is Araceae, Prayer plant is Marantaceae. They share a shop label and nothing else — different families, different continents, different care.

Which should you buy?

With a cat or dog in the house, take Prayer plant. The other is toxic, and if the shop label is wrong you will not know which you have brought home.
In a dim room, take either — both have a low light floor.
If you forget to water, take Chinese evergreen, which goes 12 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take Chinese evergreen, at 1 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Prayer plant, which stops around 12 inches.

Full entries

Chinese evergreen — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Prayer plant — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Aglaonema commutatum and Maranta leuconeura — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Aglaonema commutatum and Maranta leuconeura
ASPCA Animal Poison Control — toxicity classification for both, cited on each species entry
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, individually credited and licensed above

Compiled and edited by Tony Valcarcel · 2026-09-12
Every comparison above is drawn from a recorded field. Where the honest distinguisher is visual we show both photographs rather than describing a leaf we have no field for. How this is sourced.