The full list

All 45 terrarium plants, in one table

Every plant in the directory compared side by side. Click a column heading to sort — by terrarium type, size, light, care level or pet safety — and click any plant for its full page with photos and care notes.

Plant ↑	Type	Size	Light	Care	Habit	Pets
African Violet (mini) Saintpaulia ionantha	Open or closed	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Moderate	Rosette	Pet-safe
Air Plant Tillandsia ionantha	Open	Small	Bright indirect	Easy	Epiphyte	Pet-safe
Aluminium Plant Pilea cadierei	Closed	Small	Medium	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Arrowhead Vine (mini) Syngonium podophyllum	Open or closed	Medium	Medium	Easy	Trailing	Toxic to pets
Baby's Tears Soleirolia soleirolii	Closed	Small	Medium	Moderate	Carpet	Pet-safe
Bird's Nest Fern Asplenium nidus	Closed	Medium	Low to medium	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Bolbitis Bolbitis heteroclita "Difformis"	Closed	Small	Low to medium	Moderate	Upright	Caution
Burro's Tail Sedum morganianum	Open	Small	Bright / some direct	Easy	Trailing	Pet-safe
Button Fern Pellaea rotundifolia	Open or closed	Small	Medium	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Creeping Fig Ficus pumila	Open or closed	Medium	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Trailing	Toxic to pets
Cushion Moss Leucobryum glaucum	Closed	Small	Low to medium	Easy	Carpet	Pet-safe
Earth Star Cryptanthus bivittatus	Open or closed	Small	Bright indirect	Easy	Rosette	Pet-safe
Echeveria Echeveria elegans	Open	Small	Bright / some direct	Easy	Rosette	Pet-safe
Elephant Bush Portulacaria afra	Open	Small	Bright / some direct	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Emerald Ripple Peperomia Peperomia caperata	Open or closed	Small	Medium	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
English Ivy (mini) Hedera helix	Open	Medium	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Trailing	Toxic to pets
Eyelash Begonia Begonia bowerae	Closed	Small	Medium	Moderate	Upright	Toxic to pets
Flame Violet Episcia cupreata	Closed	Small	Medium	Moderate	Trailing	Pet-safe
Gasteria Gasteria bicolor	Open	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Hens and Chicks Sempervivum tectorum	Open	Small	Bright / some direct	Easy	Rosette	Pet-safe
Jade Plant (mini) Crassula ovata	Open	Medium	Bright / some direct	Easy	Upright	Toxic to pets
Jewel Orchid Ludisia discolor	Closed	Medium	Low to medium	Moderate	Upright	Pet-safe
Lemon Button Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia "Duffii"	Closed	Small	Medium	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Maidenhair Fern Adiantum raddianum	Closed	Medium	Low to medium	Tricky	Upright	Pet-safe
Marcgravia Marcgravia	Closed	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Moderate	Trailing	Caution
Neoregelia 'Fireball' Neoregelia "Fireball"	Open or closed	Small	Bright indirect	Easy	Rosette	Pet-safe
Nerve Plant Fittonia albivenis	Closed	Small	Low to medium	Easy	Carpet	Pet-safe
Parlour Palm (young) Chamaedorea elegans	Open or closed	Large	Low to medium	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Peacock Spikemoss Selaginella uncinata	Closed	Small	Low to medium	Moderate	Carpet	Pet-safe
Pilea Depressa Pilea depressa	Closed	Small	Medium	Easy	Trailing	Pet-safe
Pincushion Cactus Mammillaria sp.	Open	Small	Bright / direct	Easy	Upright	Caution
Polka Dot Plant Hypoestes phyllostachya	Open or closed	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Pothos (mini) Epipremnum aureum	Open or closed	Medium	Low to bright indirect	Easy	Trailing	Toxic to pets
Purple Shamrock Oxalis triangularis	Open or closed	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Upright	Toxic to pets
Rex Begonia (mini) Begonia rex	Closed	Medium	Medium to bright indirect	Moderate	Upright	Toxic to pets
Sheet Moss Hypnum sp.	Closed	Small	Low to medium	Easy	Carpet	Pet-safe
Spikemoss Selaginella kraussiana	Closed	Small	Low to medium	Moderate	Carpet	Pet-safe
String of Pearls Curio rowleyanus	Open	Small	Bright indirect	Moderate	Trailing	Toxic to pets
String of Turtles Peperomia prostrata	Open or closed	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Trailing	Pet-safe
Sundew Drosera adelae	Closed	Small	Bright indirect	Moderate	Rosette	Pet-safe
Tropical Pitcher Plant Nepenthes	Closed	Medium	Bright indirect	Tricky	Trailing	Pet-safe
Velvet-Leaf Philodendron Philodendron hederaceum "Micans"	Open or closed	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Trailing	Toxic to pets
Venus Flytrap Dionaea muscipula	Open	Small	Bright / some direct	Tricky	Rosette	Pet-safe
Watermelon Peperomia Peperomia argyreia	Open or closed	Small	Medium to bright indirect	Easy	Upright	Pet-safe
Zebra Haworthia Haworthiopsis attenuata	Open	Small	Bright indirect	Easy	Rosette	Pet-safe

Pet-safety ratings follow the ASPCA toxic/non-toxic plant lists where the species is listed; see each plant's page for the detail. Prefer browsing with photos? Use the visual directory.

FAQ

What are the best plants for a terrarium?+

The best terrarium plants are small, slow-growing species matched to the vessel: for closed (sealed) terrariums, humidity-lovers like nerve plant (fittonia), ferns, mosses and selaginella; for open terrariums, dry-air plants like haworthia, echeveria and air plants. The table on this page lists all 45, sortable by type, size, light, care level and pet safety.

Which terrarium plants are safe for pets?+

Many popular terrarium plants are pet-safe, including nerve plant, peperomias, most ferns, true mosses, polka dot plant, African violet, bromeliads and most terrarium succulents (haworthia, echeveria, sempervivum). The reliably toxic ones to keep from cats and dogs are pothos, philodendron, English ivy, jade plant, string of pearls, begonias, arrowhead vine, creeping fig and purple shamrock — sort the pet-safety column to see every rating.

How many plants are in this list?+

This list covers all 45 plants in the FloraVessa directory — 33 suit closed terrariums and 26 suit open ones, with some happy in either. Each links to a full page with photos, care details and FAQs.

All 45 terrarium plants, in one table

FAQ

Grow better terrariums