Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia seguine)

Blanceng or dumbcane (Dieffenbachia seguine) is a plant species in Araceae, annual shrubs with thick and wide leaves, striking and varied colors, usually a mixture of green, white and yellow, easy to grow and often planted in houses and yards as ornamental plants, but poisonous.

D. seguine has stringy and yellow roots. The stem has a height of 0.6-1 m, stands upright, soft and gummy, tubular, has segments as a sign of leaf marks, dark green and shiny.

Single leaf, seated alternately, oval shape, flat edge, blunt base, pointed tip, length 25-40 cm, width 15-20 cm, flattened, single bone in the middle and fiber-pinnate, smooth surface, overall green or spotted white and yellow spread in the middle.

A single flower, grows on the leaf armpit, oval, delicate petals, brown, spear-shaped stamens and pistils, oval and white crowns. The fruit is ovoid, 4-8 mm in diameter, green and red when ripe. Round seeds, 3 mm in diameter and white.

Dumbcane emits a lot of water vapor which causes the air to become moist and diligently spraying phytochemical compounds to suppress bacterial populations and fungal spores as a mechanism for plants to survive and protect themselves from pathogens.

Blanceng grows well in high humidity and low intensity sunlight. The sap contains raphide as a calcium oxalate crystal which has a needle-like shape and is stored in an idioblast. The sap is toxic which causes itching, swelling, necrosis and destruction of blood vessels.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Aroideae
Tribe: Spathicarpeae
Genus: Dieffenbachia
Species: Dieffenbachia seguine

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