Parlor palm vs Weeping fig

Chamaedorea elegans · Ficus benjamina

Pet safety: Parlor palm is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Weeping fig is toxic (proteolytic enzyme, psoralen). 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

Weeping fig is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to Parlor palm, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

Parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans) — **Parlor palm** — Chamaedorea elegans. Photograph by Tequila 13:54, 24 June 2007 (UTC), Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) — **Weeping fig** — Ficus benjamina. Photograph by KENPEI, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

	Parlor palm	Weeping fig
Scientific name	Chamaedorea elegans	Ficus benjamina
Family	Arecaceae	Moraceae
Light floor	Low	Medium
Water	7–10 days	7–12 days
Humidity floor	40%	40%
Mature height	24–48 in	36–120 in
Habit	clumping	upright
Growth rate	slow	moderate
Difficulty	Easy	Moderate
Toxic to pets	No	Yes
Typical price	$20–50	$25–90

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. Parlor palm is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Weeping fig is toxic (proteolytic enzyme, psoralen). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Mature size

Weeping fig reaches about 120 inches; Parlor palm tops out near 48. Buying the wrong one for a shelf means rehoming it in a year.

Light

Parlor palm tolerates low light; Weeping fig needs medium as a floor. Put the second in the first's spot and it stretches and declines.

Habit

Parlor palm grows clumping; Weeping fig grows upright. That decides where each one physically works.

Not even related

Parlor palm is Arecaceae, Weeping fig is Moraceae. 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 Parlor palm. 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 Parlor palm.
If you forget to water, take Weeping fig, which goes 9 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take Parlor palm, at 2 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Parlor palm, which stops around 48 inches.

Full entries

Parlor palm — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Weeping fig — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Chamaedorea elegans and Ficus benjamina — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Chamaedorea elegans and Ficus benjamina
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.