Is Prayer Plant Toxic to Dogs and Cats? (2026)

No treatment is needed. The folding movement is a normal light response, not a sign of stress from a pet disturbing the plant.

Prayer Plant is not known to contain toxic compounds harmful to dogs, cats, or horses.

Prayer Plant is confirmed non-toxic to dogs and cats by the ASPCA. Its name comes from a distinctive daily movement: the leaves fold upward in the evening, resembling hands folded in prayer, then relax open again during the day — the same nyctinastic movement seen in its close relative, Calathea.

Scientific name

Maranta leuconeura

Family

Marantaceae

Also known as

Prayer Plant

Typically found

both