Houseplant with red leaves? 16 common ones and how to tell them apart

Look-alikes: same red, different plant

Croton or Ti plant. Both are tall, glossy and splashed with red. Croton leaves are leathery, often lobed, crinkled or twisted, in many colors at once, on a woody stem whose old bark is pock-marked with leaf scars. Ti plant leaves are long, smooth, flat blades up to 30 inches, crowded in a spiral, with grooved leaf stalks.

Coleus or bloodleaf. Both have red leaves in opposite pairs. Coleus leaves are toothed and usually blotched with several colors on a square stem. Bloodleaf leaves are a more even reddish-purple with a notch at the tip, on red stems, with veins picked out in lighter red or pink, according to the NC State bloodleaf page.

Fittonia or polka dot plant. Both are small, soft and patterned. Fittonia carries its color as a net along the veins; the polka dot plant carries it as spots scattered across the leaf.

Red aglaonema or rex begonia. Both are low clumps with patterned leaves. NC State describes aglaonema leaves as glossy, lance-shaped and smooth-edged, with color banded along the main veins. Rex begonias, a group of hundreds of hybrids derived from Begonia rex according to the NC State begonia page, have lopsided leaves with toothed edges and grow from a rhizome.

Stromanthe or calathea. Both are prayer-plant relatives with red undersides that fold their leaves at night. NC State gives stromanthe glossy oblong leaves up to 12 inches or more, dark green on top and burgundy underneath; the rose-painted calathea has a deep green leaf with pink to cream brush strokes around the midrib and edges, reddish-purple below. Turn a leaf over and look at the top: plain green means stromanthe, painted means calathea.

Dracaena marginata or Ti plant. Both carry long, strap-like leaves marked with red on upright stems. NC State gives Dracaena marginata narrow leaves about half an inch wide with reddish edges, on tan stems with diamond-shaped leaf scars. Ti plant leaves are up to 6 inches wide.

When the red is not a leaf

Three common houseplants carry their red outside the leaves. On a poinsettia, UF/IFAS says the showy parts most people think of as the flower are colorful leaves called bracts, which can also be pink, white, orange or purple; the true flowers are the small yellow structures in the middle. NC State calls them showy red leafy bracts. On an anthurium, the red is a waxy spathe around a finger-like spadix. On many bromeliads the color sits in bracts or in the central cup: NC State describes the urn plant (Aechmea fasciata) with small purple flowers surrounded by pink bracts, and neoregelia with small flowers held inside the cup.

Color also changes with age and light. New leaves on some plants emerge bronze and turn green; NC State notes this for heartleaf philodendron. Croton can lose its red. UF/IFAS says even croton cultivars chosen for indoor use will eventually lose part of their color without enough light. If a red plant is turning yellow or brown rather than green, the yellow leaves guide covers the usual causes.

Red-leaved houseplants listed as toxic

These listings come from the sources named; a plant missing here has not been shown to be harmless.

• Rex begonia is listed as toxic to dogs, cats and horses by the ASPCA, which names soluble calcium oxalates; its rex begonia entry lists vomiting and salivation in dogs and cats.
• Poinsettia, Chinese evergreen, Dracaena marginata (Madagascar dragon tree), caladium, anthurium (flamingo flower) and purple shamrock (shamrock plant) are each listed as toxic to dogs, cats and horses by the ASPCA. The ASPCA describes poinsettia as irritating to the mouth and stomach and generally over-rated in toxicity.
• Ti plant is listed as toxic to dogs and cats by the ASPCA.
• Croton: NC State rates it a low-severity poison that can irritate skin, and UF/IFAS says crotons are known to have irritating and poisonous qualities and that the sap can stain. Coleus: NC State lists minor skin irritation.

If a pet has chewed one of these, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. For a person, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 in the US, or NHS 111 in the UK.

How a photo settles it

For a red-leaved houseplant, light matters more than for a green one: a warm lamp turns burgundy into brown and pink into orange. Photograph the plant near a window in daylight, and take two shots: one of the whole plant so the habit shows (cane, rosette, trailing stems), and one close-up of a single leaf, with a second of its underside if only the back is red.

Plant Identifier names the plant from one photo and gives the common and scientific names. It shows one answer with no confidence score, so check that answer against the second-clue column above. If the leaves have started to spot or curl, the Diagnose tool in Plant Identifier looks at a photo of the damage, and the Care Guide covers light and watering once you know the name. For a cat or dog in the house, Plant Identifier's Toxicology tool writes notes for people, dogs and cats; read them alongside the ASPCA entry rather than instead of it.