Caladium vs Table fern

Caladium bicolor · Pteris cretica

Pet safety: Table fern is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Caladium 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

Table fern is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to Caladium, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

Caladium (Caladium bicolor) — **Caladium** — Caladium bicolor. Photograph by Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), Wikimedia Commons , GFDL 1.2.

Table fern (Pteris cretica) — **Table fern** — Pteris cretica. Photograph by naturewatchwidow, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY 4.0.

	Caladium	Table fern
Scientific name	Caladium bicolor	Pteris cretica
Family	Araceae	Pteridaceae
Light floor	Low	Low
Water	4–9 days	3–7 days
Humidity floor	50%	50%
Mature height	12–24 in	12–24 in
Habit	clumping	clumping
Growth rate	fast	moderate
Difficulty	Demanding	Moderate
Toxic to pets	Yes	No
Typical price	$8–25	$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. Table fern is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Caladium 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.

Not even related

Caladium is Araceae, Table fern is Pteridaceae. 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 Table fern. 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 Caladium, which goes 6 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take Table fern, at 3 of 5.
For a small shelf, take either.

Full entries

Caladium — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Table fern — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Caladium bicolor and Pteris cretica — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Caladium bicolor and Pteris cretica
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.