Ox tongue vs Jelly bean plant

Gasteria bicolor · Sedum rubrotinctum

Pet safety: Ox tongue is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Jelly bean plant is toxic. 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

Jelly bean plant is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to Ox tongue, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

Ox tongue (Gasteria bicolor) — **Ox tongue** — Gasteria bicolor. Photograph by Stan Shebs, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

Jelly bean plant (Sedum rubrotinctum) — **Jelly bean plant** — Sedum rubrotinctum. Photograph by W.carter, Wikimedia Commons , CC0.

	Ox tongue	Jelly bean plant
Scientific name	Gasteria bicolor	Sedum rubrotinctum
Family	Asphodelaceae	Crassulaceae
Light floor	Medium	Bright indirect
Water	14–24 days	12–24 days
Humidity floor	20%	20%
Mature height	4–10 in	6–12 in
Habit	rosette	spreading
Growth rate	slow	moderate
Difficulty	Easy	Easy
Toxic to pets	No	Yes
Typical price	$8–25	$8–22

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. Ox tongue is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Jelly bean plant is toxic. If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Light

Ox tongue tolerates medium light; Jelly bean plant needs bright-indirect as a floor. Put the second in the first's spot and it stretches and declines.

Habit

Ox tongue grows rosette; Jelly bean plant grows spreading. That decides where each one physically works.

Not even related

Ox tongue is Asphodelaceae, Jelly bean plant is Crassulaceae. 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 Ox tongue. 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 Ox tongue.
If you forget to water, take Ox tongue, which goes 18 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take Ox tongue, at 1 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Ox tongue, which stops around 10 inches.

Full entries

Ox tongue — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Jelly bean plant — the same.

Sources

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