Fittonia albivenis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Acanthaceae |
Genus: | Fittonia |
Species: | F. albivenis |
Binomial name | |
Fittonia albivenis (Lindl. ex Veitch) Brummitt [1] | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Fittonia albivenis is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to the rainforests of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Brazil. An evergreen perennial, it is notable for its dark green foliage with strongly contrasting white or red veins. It is commonly called nerve plant or mosaic plant. In temperate regions where the temperature falls below 10 °C (50 °F) it must be grown as a houseplant. [2]
Fittonia albivenis is a creeping evergreen perennial growing to 15 cm (6 in) high, with lush green, ovate leaves, 7 to 10 cm long, with accented veins of white to deep pink and a short fuzz covering its stems. Flowers are small with a white to off-white color. [3]
The species is used as an ornamental plant that requires fertile soils or substrates based on peat. [1] It is best kept in a moist area with mild sunlight, although it does not demand much light, and temperatures above 55 °F (13 °C). As such, in temperate locations it must be kept under glass as a houseplant.[ citation needed ]
It must be watered regularly. Without water for a few days, it is known to "faint" but is easily revived with a quick watering and resumes its healthiness. Fittonia albivenis is known to be hard to grow, so it is best bought at a nursery then cared for. Its spreading habit makes it ideal as groundcover.[ citation needed ]
Numerous cultivars have been selected, falling into two cultivar groups, the Argyroneura Group (formerly F. argyroneura, F. verschaffeltii var. argyroneura) with silver to white veins, [4] and the Verschaffeltii Group (formerly F. verschaffeltii) with pink to red veins, [5] both of which have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [6]
The Kofan, Siona and Secoya tribes of the Ecuadorian Amazon use F. albivenis as a treatment for headaches, [7] and muscular pain, its leaves were used by the Machiguenga as a hallucinogen before they were introduced to Psychotria viridis . [8] They are said to "produce visions of eyeballs." The leaves of this species are prepared as a tea in the northwestern part of the Amazon region and used for toothache. [7]
Alstroemeria, commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. They are all native to South America, although some have become naturalized in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centers of diversity: one in central Chile, the other in eastern Brazil. Species of Alstroemeria from Chile are winter-growing plants, while those of Brazil are summer growing. All are long-lived perennials except A. graminea, a diminutive annual from the Atacama Desert of Chile.
Ceropegia woodii is a flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, native to South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the related Ceropegia linearis, as C. linearis subsp. woodii. Common names include chain of hearts, collar of hearts, string of hearts, rosary vine, hearts-on-a-string, and sweetheart vine.
Senecio macroglossus, the Natal ivy, marguerite ivy, climbing senecio or wax ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to southern Africa, from Zimbabwe and Mozambique to eastern South Africa.
Fittonia is a genus of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. The genus is native to tropical and subtropical forested areas in northern and western South America, mainly Perú.
Sparrmannia africana, the African hemp or African linden, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to open woodland in South Africa and Madagascar. It is one of up to seven species in the genus Sparrmannia. The genus name is after Anders Sparrman.
Goeppertia makoyana, also known as peacock plant or cathedral windows, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Goeppertia in the family Marantaceae, native to Espírito Santo state of eastern Brazil. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Stephanotis floribunda syn. S. jasminoides, the Madagascar jasmine, waxflower, Hawaiian wedding flower, or bridal wreath is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Madagascar. It is a twining, sparsely branched liana that can measure up to 6 m in length.
Ctenanthe oppenheimiana, the giant bamburanta or never-never plant, is a species of flowering plant of family Marantaceae and is a native of Brazil. It is an evergreen perennial. This plant can grow to more than 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and broad, with long narrow leaves up to 40 cm (16 in) in length. The leaves are adorned on the secondary veins with dark green bands, which meet and merge in the margins. In between are cream coloured bands. The undersides of the leaves have a red-ish colour. The cultivar 'Tricolor' is a common ornamental variety, which as a houseplant in the UK has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.. This cultivar is visually very similar to Stromanthe Sanguinea 'Triostar', and the two are often confused. The difference between the two lies in the lack of regular banding on the leaves of the Sromanthe, and the generally more rounded shape of the leaves in Ctenanthe.
Medinilla magnifica, the showy medinilla or rose grape, is a species of epiphytic flowering plant, of the family Melastomataceae, native to the Philippines. Various cultivars and hybrids of this species, genus and family are well-known and have grown to be popular with plant collectors; the species Medinilla speciosa is equally as popular.
Selaginella kraussiana is a species of vascular plant in the family Selaginellaceae. It is referred to by the common names Krauss' spikemoss, Krauss's clubmoss, or African clubmoss, and is found naturally in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and in Macaronesia. It is sometimes given the misnomer of “peacock fern”, due to its lacy leaf structure, despite having no relation to actual ferns; rather, it belongs to the very ancient lineage of plants known as the clubmosses.
Goeppertia zebrina, the zebra plant, is a species of plant in the family Marantaceae, native to southeastern Brazil. It is sometimes known by the synonym Calathea zebrina. Goeppertia zebrina has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Peperomia caperata, the emerald ripple peperomia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Piperaceae, native to Brazil. It is a mound-forming evergreen perennial growing to 20 cm (8 in) tall and wide, with corrugated heart-shaped leaves, and narrow spikes of white flowers 5–8 cm (2–3 in) long, in summer.
Goeppertia picturata is a species of plant now classified as belonging to the genus Goeppertia in the family Marantaceae. It has the synonym Calathea picturata.
Kalanchoe marmorata, the penwiper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to Central and East Africa, from Zaire to Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia. It is an erect or decumbent succulent perennial growing to 40 cm (16 in) tall and wide, with glaucous leaves spotted with purple, and starry white, four-petalled flowers, sometimes tinged with pink, in spring. As the minimum temperature for cultivation is 12 °C (54 °F), in temperate regions it is grown under glass as a houseplant.
Peperomia obtusifolia, also known as the baby rubberplant, American rubber plant, or pepper face, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Peperomia under the family Piperaceae, native to Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. The specific epithet obtusifolia means "blunt-leaved". The plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Philodendron erubescens, the blushing philodendron or red-leaf philodendron, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to Colombia. It is a robust evergreen climber growing to 3–6 m (10–20 ft), with red stems and heart-shaped leaves up to 40 cm (16 in) in length. The flowers are deep red, fragrant spathes up to 15 cm (6 in) long, in summer and autumn. The specific epithet erubescens means "blushing".
Ruellia makoyana, the monkey plant or trailing velvet plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to Brazil. It is an evergreen perennial growing to 60 cm (24 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) wide, with white-veined hairy leaves and trumpet-shaped pink flowers in summer.
Pavonia multiflora, the Brazilian candles or many flowers, is a species of flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the mallow family Malvaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to Brazil.
Plectranthus oertendahlii is a species of flowering plant in the sage and mint family, Lamiaceae. Common names include silverleaf spurflower, Swedish ivy, Oertendahl's spurflower, November lights and Brazilian coleus, though it is native to eastern South Africa rather than Brazil. Plectranthus oertendahlii and the cultivar 'Uvongo' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Goeppertia roseopicta is a species of flowering plant in the arrowroot and prayer-plant family Marantaceae, native to northwestern Brazil's Amazonian basin. Oftentimes, it is marketed as a houseplant under its former generic name and synonym Calathea roseopicta. It is a clump-forming, evergreen perennial, growing to 50 cm (20 in), and is very similar in appearance to G. makoyana. The typical "wild-type", or "natural" form, has papery, ovate leaves of a pastel, seafoam-green hue, outlined with a dark-green edging and "painted" horizontally from the midribs with darker streaks; typical of other species in its family and genus, G. roseopicta features dark reddish, purplish backsides to its foliage, an evolutionary adaptation to growing in darkened or shaded areas on the forest floor, where adequate light reflection is required for photosynthesis.