Arrowhead plant
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called African evergreen, American Evergreen, Arrow-Head Vine, Arrowhead Vine, nephthytis and Trileaf Wonder.
Arrowhead plant is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Insoluble calcium oxalates. Clinical signs: Oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting (not horses), difficulty swallowing. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Insoluble calcium oxalates. Clinical signs: Oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting (not horses), difficulty swallowing. ASPCA
- Toxic to people. Harmful when eaten; irritates skin and eyes. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Medium light 100–150 fcClemson Extension, filed as Syngonium podophyllum cv. Trileaf Wonder · read 13 September 2026Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1A — warmer than 15°C 15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Harmful when eaten; irritates skin and eyes. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Edges of the leaf blades brown while the middle stays sound
The arrowhead plant browns at the very tips first, and the brown line creeps back along the edges over weeks. The tissue is dry and brittle, not soft.
Penn State Extension notes that most indoor plants benefit from more humidity than a home heated in winter provides. The leaf edge, furthest from the veins, is where the shortfall shows.
Telling it apart: Whether the soil is dry too. Crisp edges with damp soil point at the air; with dry soil, at the watering.
Penn State ExtensionArrowhead plant brown leaf tips and edges: causes- New leaf blades arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
Compare this year's growth on the arrowhead plant with last year's: new leaf blades are smaller, thinner and a paler green, and the gap below each one is longer.
Light is the budget every other process is paid from. Under the medium light its source names, the plant spends down reserves and shows it in thin, pale growth.
Telling it apart: Whether old growth is affected. Light shows in what arrives next; feeding shows in what is already there.
Clemson ExtensionArrowhead plant leaves turning yellow: causes- The vine yellows from below and the pot stays heavy
The lowest leaf blades of the arrowhead plant go yellow and translucent at the stalk and drop with a light pull, while the compost stays wet.
Roots sitting in water run out of oxygen, and the first sign above ground is the oldest leaf blades being given up. Its source describes moist but well-drained soil, which is air as much as water.
Telling it apart: Whether the drainage hole drips when the pot is tilted. Water still running out days later is the answer.
RHSArrowhead plant leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Arrowhead plant.
Routine care
- Watering
- During growth, water generously and feed every 3 or 4 weeks with a balanced liquid fertiliser. Water less in winter.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- While growing, water generously and feed every three or four weeks with a balanced liquid fertiliser.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Repotting
- To keep the plant a manageable size, repot it every few years and trim the roots.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- By division, layering or stem cuttings.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026In summer, use bottom heat to root softwood stem-tip cuttings as well as leaf-bud cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- In spring, plant height can be reduced where needed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by aphids, twospotted spider mites, mealybugs and banded greenhouse thrips. Diseases: bacterial leaf spot.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Under glass, glasshouse red spider mite and mealybugs can occur. Diseases: usually none.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Syngonium podophyllum is a species of aroid that is a popular houseplant. Common names include: arrowhead plant, arrowhead vine, arrowhead philodendron, goosefoot, nephthytis, African evergreen, and American evergreen. The species is native to a wide region of Latin America from Mexico through Bolivia, and naturalized in the West Indies, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, and other places.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Mexico to Trop. AmericaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026South America to MexicoNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026S AmericaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- wet tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Herbaceous Perennial, Vine; habit cascading, creeping, prostrateNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Climbing (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 36–72 in; width 12–24 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 1.5-2.5 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 2–5 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers green, white; blooms in summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers cream in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Arrowhead plant
More of the Araceae family
Calla lilyEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
Dumb caneLeaf tips go crisp and brown
Elephant earCrisp margins that appear in winter
Flamingo flowerBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Heartleaf philodendronA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
MonsteraBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Plants with similar care
Chinese money plantBrown tips on the newest leaf blades first
Inch plantBleached patches on the side facing the glass
PothosBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Satin pothosCrisp margins that appear in winter
Dwarf umbrella treeA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Grape ivyCrisp margins that appear in winter
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.