The houseplant trade runs on common names, and common names are chaos. One name can refer to three entirely different genera. Three names can point at the same single species. Meanwhile, in your garden center, the label says "money plant" and offers exactly zero help. I've been correcting mislabeled plants in my own collection for years, and I want to give you the guide I wish I'd had from the start — twelve of the most dangerously confused common names in houseplant culture, with the botanical truth behind each one.

This matters for more than trivia. Misidentification has real consequences. If you think "lily" means "peace lily," you might not realize you just brought a true Lilium into a home with cats. If you think "money tree" is the same as "jade plant," you're watering one plant wrong while leaving the other neglected. And if you believe "satin pothos" is a pothos, you're relying on care guides written for the wrong genus.

Let's work through these one by one.

1. Snake plant

This is probably the most taxonomically complicated entry on this list, because the name is correct — it's just that the plant changed its name.

"Snake plant" refers to what most people know as Sansevieria trifasciata: the stiff, upright, sword-leafed plant with green-and-yellow banding that sits in every office lobby and dentist waiting room in the country. That plant is real, and that common name describes it accurately. The wrinkle is that in 2017, the genus Sansevieria was formally merged into Dracaena by Kew Gardens' Plants of the World Online (POWO) database, following phylogenetic work that found Sansevieria to be nested within Dracaena rather than being a separate lineage. The plant is now correctly named Dracaena trifasciata per Kew POWO.

In practice, you will find this plant sold under both names. Nurseries, garden centers, and even botanical gardens use Sansevieria trifasciata on labels because the name has fifty years of market inertia behind it. Neither name is wrong as a means of communication, but technically, Sansevieria is now a synonym. The accepted name is Dracaena trifasciata.

For care purposes, this doesn't change anything. The plant is the plant. It still wants bright light, infrequent watering, and well-draining soil. It's still toxic to pets — the ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats and dogs via saponins, causing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Note also that the ASPCA's toxicity listing for Dracaena as a genus is separate — the ASPCA Dracaena entry covers the corn plant and related species, with clinical signs including vomiting (sometimes with blood), depression, and dilated pupils in cats. The merger of Sansevieria into Dracaena means the snake plant now sits in the same genus as the corn plant — both toxic, both saponin-based, though the specific clinical profile differs.

The actual common-name confusion with snake plant is subtler: many people use "mother-in-law's tongue" and "snake plant" interchangeably, and they are the same species. Dracaena trifasciata is sold under at least four common names depending on the retailer and the cultivar.

2. Money tree

"Money tree" almost always refers to Pachira aquatica, the plant with the braided trunk sold in bonsai-style pots at every big-box garden center. It is a semi-aquatic tree native to Central and South American wetlands, and in its native habitat it grows enormous — up to 18 meters. The braided version sold as a houseplant is multiple seedlings twisted together while young, then allowed to fuse at the nodes as they grow. It is entirely a nursery aesthetic technique, not a feature of the species.

The ASPCA lists Pachira aquatica as non-toxic to cats and dogs, which is genuinely useful information if you're choosing a pet-safe plant. The ASPCA note is that it may cause nausea, vomiting, and loose stool if consumed — not a fully benign response, but it is not in the toxic classification.

The confusion arises because "money" is one of those aspirational words the houseplant trade throws at multiple species. Crassula ovata is sold as "money plant" (or "jade plant") and is entirely different — a succulent, different genus, different family, different continent of origin. Pilea peperomioides is sold as "Chinese money plant" and is also completely different. And Epipremnum aureum is sold as "money plant" in parts of South and Southeast Asia.

When you see "money tree" with the braided trunk in a ceramic pot, that's Pachira. When you see "money plant" for anything else, verify the genus before you rely on care advice.

3. Money plant

"Money plant" is possibly the most ambiguous common name in the entire houseplant trade, because it refers to at least three completely different genera in different parts of the world:

This is not a solvable problem via common names. The only solution is to get the genus. If someone gives you care advice for a "money plant" without specifying a genus, that advice may be completely wrong for the plant you actually have. A Crassula wants infrequent watering and lots of light. An Epipremnum tolerates low light and needs different soil entirely.

4. Lily — the most dangerous confusion in this guide

I want to be very direct about this one, because it has life-or-death consequences for cats.

The word "lily" is attached to dozens of houseplants that are not true lilies — they do not belong to the genus Lilium or even to the family Liliaceae in most cases. This creates a serious safety problem, because true lilies (Lilium spp. and Hemerocallis spp.) are life-threatening to cats in a way that has no parallel among common houseplants. A cat that ingests even a small amount of leaf, pollen, or water from a vase containing a Lilium or Hemerocallis species can suffer acute renal failure and die within days without aggressive veterinary treatment.

Here are the plants most commonly sold with "lily" in the name, and what they actually are:

Peace lily (Spathiphyllum spp.) is not a lily at all. It is an aroid — family Araceae, the same family as pothos and philodendron. It is toxic to cats and dogs via insoluble calcium oxalates, causing oral irritation, excessive drooling, and vomiting. This is unpleasant but not life-threatening in the way true lily ingestion is. The ASPCA has a clear entry for it.

Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is also not a lily. Also an aroid. Also toxic via insoluble calcium oxalates. Similar clinical signs to peace lily. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats and dogs. Serious but not in the acute renal failure category that true lilies cause.

True Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) — and here is where the danger is. Lilium longiflorum is in the actual genus Lilium, family Liliaceae. This plant is acutely nephrotoxic to cats. The ASPCA lists the toxic principle as unknown, but the clinical signs are devastating: vomiting, inappetence, lethargy, kidney failure, and death is possible. Cats are the only species known to experience this severe renal toxicity.

The same acute renal toxicity applies to all Lilium species sold as cut flowers or houseplants — stargazer lilies, tiger lilies, Asiatic lilies, daylilies (Hemerocallis) — all of them. The presence of lily pollen on a cat's coat, licked off during grooming, is enough to trigger renal failure.

The practical rule: if you have cats and there is "lily" in the plant name, you need to verify the genus before bringing it inside. Spathiphyllum (peace lily) and Zantedeschia (calla lily) are toxic but not in the acute-renal-failure category. Lilium and Hemerocallis are in a completely different danger tier.

5. Philodendron — loosely applied to any vine

"Philodendron" as a common name has two problems. The first is that genuine Philodendron species are often mislabeled as pothos (covered in entry 6). The second is that "philodendron" is sometimes used as a loose generic term for any trailing or climbing aroid — which leads to real errors.

The most egregious example I encounter regularly is Cebu Blue Pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum 'Cebu Blue'). This plant is frequently sold with the word "philodendron" in its label or care description. It is not a Philodendron. It is Epipremnum pinnatum, a different genus entirely — related to the golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum) rather than to heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum).

The correct genus matters for care and for toxicity. Philodendron hederaceum is toxic to cats and dogs via insoluble calcium oxalates. Epipremnum species are also toxic via calcium oxalates, but the toxicity listings differ at the species and genus level. Using a "philodendron" care guide for an Epipremnum can lead to small watering errors that accumulate over months into a sick plant.

If you want a philodendron, look for Philodendron on the botanical name label — genuine species include P. hederaceum (heartleaf), P. gloriosum, P. melanochrysum, P. erubescens (the blushing philodendron), and the large-leaved P. bipinnatifidum. If the botanical name says Epipremnum, it is a pothos-relative, not a true philodendron.

6. Pothos — three different plants sold under one name

"Pothos" should refer to Epipremnum aureum, the golden pothos: the waxy, heart-shaped-leaved, yellow-green-variegated vine that is probably the most common houseplant in the US. This is the plant the ASPCA's Golden Pothos entry covers — toxic to cats and dogs via insoluble calcium oxalates.

But "pothos" gets applied to at least two other plants routinely:

Satin pothos is Scindapsus pictus — a different genus. It has silvery, slightly velvety leaves with a distinct texture compared to golden pothos, and it belongs to Scindapsus rather than Epipremnum. The care requirements are similar but not identical: Scindapsus pictus is somewhat more drought-sensitive than Epipremnum aureum, and it truly prefers bright indirect light more than golden pothos does. The ASPCA does not have a specific entry for Scindapsus pictus, which means its toxicity classification is not established in their database — treat it as potentially toxic.

Cebu Blue "Pothos" is Epipremnum pinnatum 'Cebu Blue' — same genus as golden pothos, different species. It has narrower, blue-green leaves with a distinctive metallic sheen. It's often sold simply as "blue pothos" or "Cebu Blue pothos," and the genus at least is correct — it's Epipremnum. The care is similar to golden pothos. Toxicity: also toxic via calcium oxalates (same genus, same mechanism as golden pothos).

Why does this matter? Because if you buy "satin pothos" and follow care guides for Epipremnum aureum, you may overwater it or keep it in too-low light. And if you're tracking pet toxicity, the distinction between a confirmed ASPCA listing and an unconfirmed one matters.

7. Calathea vs Goeppertia — the great 2012 reclassification

Until 2012, most of the prayer plants you see at garden centers were sold under Calathea: Calathea orbifolia, Calathea ornata, Calathea zebrina, Calathea lancifolia (rattlesnake plant), Calathea medallion. Then molecular phylogenetic work led Kew's POWO database to reclassify a large chunk of Calathea into the genus Goeppertia, recognizing that Calathea as previously defined was not monophyletic.

Per Kew POWO, Calathea orbifolia is now Goeppertia orbifolia. Calathea ornata is Goeppertia ornata. Calathea zebrina is Goeppertia zebrina. Calathea lancifolia (rattlesnake plant) is Goeppertia insignis.

In practice, you will almost certainly not encounter Goeppertia on a nursery label. The market has not adopted the new name, and most horticultural literature still uses Calathea. Even the ASPCA continues to use Calathea spp. in its database entries. So when you see Calathea in a care guide, including guides on this site, that's what's meant: the prayer plants in the family Marantaceae that fold their leaves at night. The correct botanical name per current taxonomy is Goeppertia for most of them, but both names communicate the same plant.

The good news: the ASPCA classifies Calathea as non-toxic to cats and dogs. Whatever you call the genus, the toxicity classification hasn't changed. These are one of the genuinely safe prayer-plant options for a home with pets.

8. Sansevieria — the full taxonomy story

I touched on this in entry 1, but it deserves its own section for clarity. The merger of Sansevieria into Dracaena happened when Kew POWO updated the classification following Christenhusz et al.'s 2017 work showing that Sansevieria species are nested within the phylogenetic tree of Dracaena. A clade that sits inside another genus cannot be maintained as a separate genus under modern phylogenetic taxonomy without making the parent group paraphyletic.

What this means practically: the roughly seventy species that were in Sansevieria are now classified as Dracaena species. Sansevieria trifasciata becomes Dracaena trifasciata. Sansevieria cylindrica becomes Dracaena angolensis. Sansevieria moonshine becomes Dracaena trifasciata 'Moonshine'. The common names (snake plant, mother-in-law's tongue, African spear plant, cylindrical snake plant) haven't changed — only the genus assignment.

From a care perspective, this is completely irrelevant. The plants are identical, grown identically. From a toxicity perspective, it's worth noting that the Dracaena ASPCA entry covers the corn plant and related species — the Sansevieria-origin Dracaena species retain their saponin toxicity, but the specific clinical syndrome is the one listed on the ASPCA Snake Plant entry rather than the Dracaena corn plant entry.

9. Christmas cactus — three different plants

"Christmas cactus" is the common name most commonly applied to Schlumbergera bridgesii — a rainforest cactus (not a desert cactus — important for care) native to the Organ Mountains of Brazil, that blooms in late winter. The name is reasonable: it blooms around Christmas.

But the name also gets applied to:

Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) — same genus as Christmas cactus, different species, typically blooms a month earlier (November). The leaf segments are the key: Thanksgiving cactus has pointed, claw-like serrations on the margins; Christmas cactus (S. bridgesii) has rounded, scalloped margins. Most of what is sold as "Christmas cactus" at big-box stores in late autumn is actually S. truncata in bloom for Thanksgiving.

Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri, also seen as Hatiora gaertneri) — different genus entirely, blooms in spring, has finer-segmented stems with star-shaped flowers. It is often lumped under "holiday cactus" as a catch-all.

Care for all three is similar — they're all rainforest cacti that want humidity, indirect light, and more water than a desert cactus — but the bloom timing is how you reliably tell them apart. If you're trying to induce blooming through temperature or photoperiod manipulation, knowing which species you have will help you get the timing right. They all respond to the same general triggers (cool nights, short days), but the window varies by four to six weeks between the earliest and latest bloomers.

None of these holiday cacti are listed as toxic to cats or dogs by the ASPCA, which makes them a reasonable choice for pet-safe holiday decorating — though verify this for your specific situation, as the trade in these plants is a bit chaotic.

10. Aloe — the synonym situation

"Aloe" as a houseplant almost always means Aloe vera, the gel-bearing succulent whose cut-leaf gel is used for burns and skin care. What's interesting is that Aloe vera is itself a taxonomic synonym situation: it is the same plant as Aloe barbadensis, and per Kew POWO, Aloe vera is now the accepted name and Aloe barbadensis is a synonym. Both names have been used in medical and horticultural literature, sometimes causing confusion when old research refers to A. barbadensis and newer literature refers to A. vera.

The confusion with other Aloe species is also real. There are hundreds of aloe species, ranging from the tiny Aloe aristata to the massive Aloe ferox. Many are sold without species names as simply "aloe." The one you want for gel is Aloe vera; it's the only species where the gel has been extensively studied.

Toxicity note: despite its reputation for topical healing, Aloe vera is toxic to cats and dogs per the ASPCA. The toxic compounds are the saponins and anthraquinones found in the latex layer just under the green skin (not in the clear inner gel). Clinical signs include vomiting, depression, diarrhea, and tremors. Don't let the medicinal reputation make you complacent about keeping it away from pets.

11. Elephant ear — three genera, one common name

"Elephant ear" describes any large-leaved tropical plant that resembles, plausibly, an elephant's ear. In practice it covers three completely different genera:

Alocasia — upright habit, arrow-shaped or shield-shaped leaves that point upward. Most of the "elephant ear" plants sold as trendy houseplants are Alocasia: Alocasia polly, Alocasia macrorrhiza (giant taro), Alocasia amazonica. Toxic to cats and dogs via insoluble calcium oxalates per the ASPCA.

Colocasia — taro. Similar look but the leaves are peltate (the stem attaches near the center of the leaf, not at the edge), giving them a more rounded, drooping look. Colocasia esculenta is the edible taro grown for its corms in tropical agriculture. Also toxic to cats and dogs via insoluble calcium oxalates per the ASPCA.

Xanthosoma — less commonly sold as houseplants but sometimes labeled "elephant ear." Also Araceae, also calcium oxalate toxic.

Care differs significantly. Alocasia goes through dormancy periods and can die back completely in winter — that's not the plant dying, it's the plant cycling. Colocasia is more consistently growing and prefers wetter conditions than Alocasia. Neither tolerates cold or dry air well. If you get care advice for "elephant ear" without a genus, verify which one you have.

12. ZZ plant — the one that actually matches

I saved the most straightforward entry for last. "ZZ plant" maps cleanly and consistently to Zamioculcas zamiifolia — there is essentially no trade confusion here. The common name is just the abbreviation of the genus and species, and it is used universally. No ambiguity.

The interesting thing about ZZ plant is the toxicity rumor that circulates about it. I encounter the claim that ZZ plant is deadly, causes cancer, or is in a different danger tier from other toxic houseplants. This is not supported. It is toxic via calcium oxalates (same mechanism as pothos, philodendron, peace lily) — clinical signs if consumed include diarrhea and vomiting. It is not in the life-threatening category for cats the way Lilium species are. The ASPCA has it listed as toxic via calcium oxalate, though as of this writing the plant does not have a dedicated individual ASPCA page with a full clinical-signs entry.

The confusion may stem from older research noting that the sap contains calcium oxalate crystals, plus the fact that it looks unusual (the thick rhizomes and glossy leaves don't read like a typical houseplant) which may feed speculation. Treat it as a toxic plant that should be kept away from pets and children who might chew on leaves — the same baseline rule as any Araceae family member. But it is not in a special danger tier.

A note on how to actually use this

The practical lesson from all twelve of these entries is the same: common names are marketing, botanical names are information. Every time you buy a new plant, google the botanical name that appears on the tag, cross-reference it with the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants database, and then look up care guides by botanical name rather than common name.

If the plant has no tag, or the tag says only a common name, your first job is to identify the genus. You can do this by posting a clear photo to any plant ID community with a request for genus-level identification — even approximate. The genus tells you the family, which tells you the toxicity mechanism family, which immediately tells you whether you need a deeper investigation.

The twelve confusions above are the ones I encounter most often in reader questions and in my own experience at garden centers and nurseries. They're not exhaustive — there are dozens more — but knowing these twelve will protect you from the most dangerous mistakes: bringing a true Lilium into a home with cats, not knowing whether your "money plant" is a succulent or a vine, and treating a Scindapsus like an Epipremnum.

Frequently asked questions

Is "devil's ivy" the same as pothos?

Yes. "Devil's ivy" is another common name for Epipremnum aureum, the same plant sold as golden pothos. The name refers to the plant's extreme persistence — it stays green even in very low light and is difficult to kill. All the toxicity and care information that applies to "golden pothos" applies to "devil's ivy." The ASPCA's Golden Pothos entry covers Epipremnum aureum regardless of which common name you use.

My label says "heartleaf philodendron" but it looks exactly like my pothos. Are they the same plant?

They're not the same plant, but the confusion is extremely common — they're both vining aroids in the family Araceae with similar-shaped leaves. The key diagnostic: look at the petiole (the small stem connecting each leaf to the vine). Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) has a distinct groove you can feel with your fingernail. Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) has a smooth, rounded petiole. New leaves also emerge differently — philodendron wraps new leaves in a thin papery sheath called a cataphyll; pothos doesn't. Both are toxic to pets, but via the same mechanism (calcium oxalates), so the practical pet-safety rule is the same: keep both away from animals.

Can I trust the botanical name on a plant label?

More often than the common name, but not always. Garden centers occasionally mislabel species within a genus — selling Epipremnum pinnatum as Epipremnum aureum, or mislabeling Scindapsus pictus as a pothos. Large wholesale operations move plants quickly, and botanical labeling precision is not always a priority. The best verification is a combination of the physical diagnostic features described above and — for toxicity — a photo confirmed by a botanical or horticultural community. For any plant where toxicity matters for your household, verify the genus independently rather than relying solely on a label.

Sources: Kew Plants of the World Online (POWO) for all taxonomic name changes and accepted names; ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants database for all toxicity classifications; NC State Extension Plant Toolbox for care cross-references; Illinois Extension for pothos/philodendron morphological distinctions.