Parlor palm vs ZZ plant

Chamaedorea elegans · Zamioculcas zamiifolia

Pet safety: Parlor palm is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; ZZ 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

ZZ plant 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.

ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) — **ZZ plant** — Zamioculcas zamiifolia. Photograph by User:WeFt, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

	Parlor palm	ZZ plant
Scientific name	Chamaedorea elegans	Zamioculcas zamiifolia
Family	Arecaceae	Araceae
Light floor	Low	Low
Water	7–10 days	14–21 days
Humidity floor	40%	20%
Mature height	24–48 in	24–36 in
Habit	clumping	upright
Growth rate	slow	slow
Difficulty	Easy	Easy
Toxic to pets	No	Yes
Typical price	$20–50	$18–40

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; ZZ 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.

Watering

Parlor palm wants water every 7–10 days, ZZ plant every 14–21. On one shared watering schedule, one of them drowns.

Habit

Parlor palm grows clumping; ZZ plant grows upright. That decides where each one physically works.

Humidity

Parlor palm wants a floor of 40%; ZZ plant copes at 20%. In a heated room in winter that gap is the difference between crisp edges and none.

Not even related

Parlor palm is Arecaceae, ZZ plant is Araceae. 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 either — both have a low light floor.
If you forget to water, take ZZ plant, which goes 18 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take ZZ plant, at 1 of 5.
For a small shelf, take ZZ plant, which stops around 36 inches.

Full entries

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

Sources

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