Dieffenbachia

I finally found out the name of my tallest plant: he is a Dieffenbachia, and I gave him a first name as well: Hiro, a Japanese name, because I thought he looked like he could grow in Japan. And it's all about postive reinforcement: if he is called Hiro, he will hear "Hero", hence he will grow like a hero! I was wrong though - he is tropical, not from Japan. In Japan he would most likely only be abundant in homes, just like here in Canada.

I also discovered that Dieffenbachia is highly poisonous. It has been used by native Amazonians for the poison used on arrows. During the slave era it was known as "dumb cane", because it would silence un-welcomed visitors. It was used for human torture. The little calcium oxalate crystals damage tissue. I had no idea, that this was such a powerful plant.