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Toxic to dogs. The ASPCA lists copperleaf as toxic to dogs. An irritant tier listing: uncomfortable drooling and stomach upset are the expected outcome. Repeated or large chewing, especially by a small dog, is what turns it into a clinic visit.
Copperleaf, sold in named forms like 'Firestorm' and 'Match-me-if-you-can', is the mottled bronze, copper and pink leaved shrub that hedges half of frost free Florida, and a bright light houseplant everywhere else. The ASPCA lists Acalypha godseffiana as toxic to dogs. It is bred entirely for foliage, so the part a dog chews is the part the gardener planted it for.
A fast tropical shrub with broad, serrated leaves splashed and edged in copper, bronze, red, cream or pink, no two leaves patterned alike. Flowers are insignificant; the foliage is the display. Broken stems weep a thin sap. Outdoors in warm zones it makes a dense hedge to head height and is clipped often; indoors it lives as a leggy, colorful pot plant that drops leaves when light falls.
The ASPCA names the toxic principle of copperleaf as Diterpene esters. Copperleaf is a spurge family shrub, and its defense is the family's irritant sap chemistry: diterpene esters, the same class the ASPCA names for its houseplant cousin the chenille plant. These compounds inflame the surfaces they touch, so the sign list is a contact list: drooling from an irritated mouth, then vomiting and diarrhea from an irritated gut. There is no organ or heart element in this entry.
The clinical signs the ASPCA lists for copperleaf are: drooling, vomiting and diarrhea. Expect drooling first, sometimes with head shaking and pawing as the sap irritates the mouth, followed by vomiting and diarrhea if leaves were swallowed. Skin that rests against chewed foliage or fresh prunings can redden in sensitive dogs. Because copperleaf is usually one shrub among several in a mixed hedge, photograph the exact plant chewed; hedge neighbors like croton look similar at a glance and are a different conversation. Most cases settle with supportive care once the chewing stops.
Most dangerous part: The leaves and the sap in cut or chewed stems. Copperleaf is planted as a hedge and pruned hard, so fresh cuttings and leaf piles are as much an exposure as the growing shrub.
Call your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 right away, even if your dog looks fine. Some poisons take hours or days to show their worst effects. Do not make your dog vomit unless a veterinarian tells you to, and keep the packaging, a photo, or a sample of what was eaten to show the clinic.
Keep new copperleaf plantings fenced until established and out of the dog run's hedge line where you can. Rake up prunings the day you cut; this shrub is pruned often and the piles are the classic exposure. Indoors, give it the brightest spot on a stand or shelf a dog cannot reach, and sweep fallen leaves, which it drops steadily in low light.
For colored foliage without an irritant listing, nerve plant and calathea varieties are listed by the ASPCA as non-toxic to dogs and cover the patterned leaf effect indoors; outdoors, polka dot plant gives the same speckled color at smaller scale. Whatever you plant next, check it the same way this page was checked: confirm the plant on the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic list under its scientific name, Acalypha godseffiana is the name to avoid here, before it goes in the ground or on the shelf.
Yes. The ASPCA lists copperleaf (Acalypha godseffiana) as toxic to dogs. Its toxic principle is Diterpene esters, and the signs it lists include drooling, vomiting and diarrhea.
Call your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 straight away. Note what part of the plant was eaten and roughly how much, keep any remaining plant material to show the clinic, and do not make your dog vomit unless a veterinarian tells you to.
The leaves and the sap in cut or chewed stems. Copperleaf is planted as a hedge and pruned hard, so fresh cuttings and leaf piles are as much an exposure as the growing shrub.
They are cousins, both Acalypha, with the same diterpene ester chemistry on their ASPCA entries. Chenille plant, covered on its own page in this package, is the houseplant with red caterpillar flower tails; copperleaf is the mottled foliage hedge shrub. The signs, drooling, vomiting and diarrhea, match.
Drooling is the first listed sign and may be the whole story after a small chew. Wipe the mouth, offer water, and call for advice; vomiting and diarrhea over the next hours are the progression the clinic will ask you to watch and report.
This page is general information drawn from the published guidance of the organizations listed under Sources below. It is not veterinary advice, and it does not replace your own veterinarian, who knows your dog. If your dog has eaten something toxic, contact your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 straight away. A consultation fee may apply on the helplines.
Last updated: November 2026. Every verdict on this page was checked against the sources listed above. How we work: our methodology.
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