Is Persian Violet a safe houseplant?

[Hobart]

I have been given a Persian Violet houseplant, also known as Exacum. I know that African violets are safe for Parrots so I am assuming that a Persian Violet is probably safe also but don't know for sure. Does anyone know? Thanks. I have a Maximillian Pionus who has never shown any interest in chewing on houseplants but you never know what they will do.

 

[tka]

I know that African violets are safe for Parrots so I am assuming that a Persian Violet is probably safe

Please don't bet on this - they're completely different species that happen to have similar common names. African violets belong to the genus Streptocarpus while Persian violets belong to the genus Exacum. Totally different plants with different characteristics.

 

[Hobart]

Thanks for the genus and family names. Good info that I didn't have.

 

[tka]

It's always best to go by scientific or Latin names. So many common names sound similar and don't reflect the actual relationship between species, or may differ due to region and dialect. For example, European robins belong to a different family to American robins: Europeans robins are flycatchers while American robins are thrushes. They look somewhat similar but belong to different families and have different behaviours.

Accuracy is especially important when you're trying to search for toxicity information.