African mask plant vs Rattlesnake plant

Alocasia × mortfontanensis · Goeppertia lancifolia

Pet safety: Rattlesnake plant is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; African mask plant 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

Rattlesnake plant is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to African mask plant, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

African mask plant (Alocasia × mortfontanensis) — **African mask plant** — Alocasia × mortfontanensis. Photograph by Wiki Farazi, Wikimedia Commons , CC0.

Rattlesnake plant (Goeppertia lancifolia) — **Rattlesnake plant** — Goeppertia lancifolia. Photograph by Cary Bass (now Bass-Deschênes), Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

	African mask plant	Rattlesnake plant
Scientific name	Alocasia × mortfontanensis	Goeppertia lancifolia
Family	Araceae	Marantaceae
Light floor	Medium	Low
Water	5–10 days	4–8 days
Humidity floor	55%	50%
Mature height	18–36 in	18–30 in
Habit	upright	clumping
Growth rate	moderate	moderate
Difficulty	Demanding	Moderate
Toxic to pets	Yes	No
Typical price	$20–60	$15–45

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. Rattlesnake plant is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; African mask plant 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.

Light

Rattlesnake plant tolerates low light; African mask plant needs medium as a floor. Put the second in the first's spot and it stretches and declines.

Habit

African mask plant grows upright; Rattlesnake plant grows clumping. That decides where each one physically works.

Not even related

African mask plant is Araceae, Rattlesnake 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 Rattlesnake 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 Rattlesnake plant.
If you forget to water, take African mask plant, which goes 7 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take Rattlesnake plant, at 3 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Rattlesnake plant, which stops around 30 inches.

Full entries

African mask plant — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Rattlesnake plant — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Alocasia × mortfontanensis and Goeppertia lancifolia — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Alocasia × mortfontanensis and Goeppertia lancifolia
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.