Kentia palm vs Bird of paradise

Howea forsteriana · Strelitzia reginae

Pet safety: Kentia palm is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Bird of paradise is toxic (hydrocyanic acid in the seeds).

Why these two get mixed up

Bird of paradise is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to Kentia palm, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) — **Kentia palm** — Howea forsteriana. Photograph by Black Diamond Images, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY 2.0.

Bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) — **Bird of paradise** — Strelitzia reginae. Photograph by Scott Bauer, USDA, Wikimedia Commons , Public domain.

	Kentia palm	Bird of paradise
Scientific name	Howea forsteriana	Strelitzia reginae
Family	Arecaceae	Strelitziaceae
Light floor	Low	Bright indirect
Water	8–14 days	7–12 days
Humidity floor	40%	40%
Mature height	48–120 in	36–72 in
Habit	clumping	clumping
Growth rate	slow	moderate
Difficulty	Easy	Moderate
Toxic to pets	No	Yes
Typical price	$60–250	$35–120

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. Kentia palm is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Bird of paradise is toxic (hydrocyanic acid in the seeds). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Mature size

Kentia palm reaches about 120 inches; Bird of paradise tops out near 72. Buying the wrong one for a shelf means rehoming it in a year.

Light

Kentia palm tolerates low light; Bird of paradise needs bright-indirect as a floor. Put the second in the first's spot and it stretches and declines.

Difficulty

Kentia palm scores 1 of 5, Bird of paradise scores 3. easy to keep alive and hard to flower. It needs several years, a lot of direct sun and to be pot-bound before it blooms indoors.

Not even related

Kentia palm is Arecaceae, Bird of paradise is Strelitziaceae. 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 Kentia 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 Kentia palm.
If you forget to water, take Kentia palm, which goes 10 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take Kentia palm, at 1 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Bird of paradise, which stops around 72 inches.

Full entries

Kentia palm — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Bird of paradise — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Howea forsteriana and Strelitzia reginae — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Howea forsteriana and Strelitzia reginae
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.