String of hearts vs String of pearls

Ceropegia woodii · Curio rowleyanus

Pet safety: String of hearts is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; String of pearls is toxic (pyrrolizidine alkaloids). 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

Both are sold as "rosary vine". That is not a nickname problem — a plant labelled rosary vine in a shop could be either of these, and they want different things.

String of hearts (Ceropegia woodii) — **String of hearts** — Ceropegia woodii. Photograph by Photo: Dr. David Midgley, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 2.5.

String of pearls (Curio rowleyanus) — **String of pearls** — Curio rowleyanus. Photograph by Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0.

	String of hearts	String of pearls
Scientific name	Ceropegia woodii	Curio rowleyanus
Family	Apocynaceae	Asteraceae
Light floor	Medium	Bright indirect
Water	10–18 days	12–21 days
Humidity floor	30%	20%
Mature height	12–96 in	6–36 in
Habit	trailing	trailing
Growth rate	fast	moderate
Difficulty	Easy	Demanding
Toxic to pets	No	Yes
Typical price	$12–35	$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. String of hearts is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; String of pearls is toxic (pyrrolizidine alkaloids). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Mature size

String of hearts reaches about 96 inches; String of pearls tops out near 36. Buying the wrong one for a shelf means rehoming it in a year.

Light

String of hearts tolerates medium light; String of pearls needs bright-indirect as a floor. Put the second in the first's spot and it stretches and declines.

Difficulty

String of hearts scores 2 of 5, String of pearls scores 4. it looks unkillable and is not. The shallow roots rot within days in a deep wet pot, and by the time the strand shrivels the roots are already gone.

Not even related

String of hearts is Apocynaceae, String of pearls is Asteraceae. 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 String of hearts. 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 String of hearts.
If you forget to water, take String of pearls, which goes 16 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take String of hearts, at 2 of 5.
For a small shelf, take String of pearls, which stops around 36 inches.

Full entries

String of hearts — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. String of pearls — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Ceropegia woodii and Curio rowleyanus — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Ceropegia woodii and Curio rowleyanus
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.