Coffee plant vs Blue star fern

Coffea arabica · Phlebodium aureum

Pet safety: Blue star fern is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Coffee plant is toxic (caffeine). 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

Blue star fern is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to Coffee plant, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

Coffee plant (Coffea arabica) — **Coffee plant** — Coffea arabica. Photograph by Kızıldeniz, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0.

Blue star fern (Phlebodium aureum) — **Blue star fern** — Phlebodium aureum. Photograph by Anatoly Mikhaltsov, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY 4.0.

	Coffee plant	Blue star fern
Scientific name	Coffea arabica	Phlebodium aureum
Family	Rubiaceae	Polypodiaceae
Light floor	Medium	Low
Water	5–10 days	5–10 days
Humidity floor	50%	45%
Mature height	24–72 in	12–30 in
Habit	upright	spreading
Growth rate	moderate	moderate
Difficulty	Moderate	Easy
Toxic to pets	Yes	No
Typical price	$15–45	$18–50

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. Blue star fern is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Coffee plant is toxic (caffeine). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Mature size

Coffee plant reaches about 72 inches; Blue star fern tops out near 30. Buying the wrong one for a shelf means rehoming it in a year.

Light

Blue star fern tolerates low light; Coffee plant needs medium as a floor. Put the second in the first's spot and it stretches and declines.

Habit

Coffee plant grows upright; Blue star fern grows spreading. That decides where each one physically works.

Not even related

Coffee plant is Rubiaceae, Blue star fern is Polypodiaceae. 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 Blue star 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 Blue star fern.
If you forget to water, take either.
If it is your first plant, take Blue star fern, at 2 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Blue star fern, which stops around 30 inches.

Full entries

Coffee plant — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Blue star fern — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Coffea arabica and Phlebodium aureum — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Coffea arabica and Phlebodium aureum
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.