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.
Impatiens walleriana, also known as busy Lizzie, balsam, sultana, or simply impatiens, is a species of the genus Impatiens, native to eastern Africa from Kenya to Mozambique. The Latin specific epithet walleriana honours a British missionary, Horace Waller (1833–1896).
Tradescantia pallida is a species of spiderwort native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. The cultivar T. pallida 'Purpurea' is commonly called purple secretia, purple-heart, or purple queen. Edward Palmer collected the type specimen near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in 1907.
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.
Impatiens repens, the Ceylon balsam, yellow impatiens, or creeping balsam, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae, from Sri Lanka. As the Latin name repens indicates, it is a low-growing plant with a creeping habit. This evergreen perennial can be found in wet-zone rain forests. Growing to 50 cm (20 in) tall and broad, it has small kidney-shaped leaves borne on red stems, and hooded yellow flowers in summer and autumn. It can be seen cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant. In temperate zones it must be protected from temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F), so must be grown under glass during the winter months, It requires a sheltered position in partial shade.
Coleus scutellarioides, commonly known as coleus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southeast Asia through to Australia. Typically growing to 60–75 cm (24–30 in) tall and wide, it is a bushy, woody-based evergreen perennial, widely grown for the highly decorative variegated leaves found in cultivated varieties. Another common name is painted nettle, reflecting its relationship to deadnettles, which are in the same family. The synonyms Coleus blumei, Plectranthus scutellarioides and Solenostemon scutellarioides are also widely used for this species.
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.
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.
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.
Calathea zebrina, the zebra plant, is a species of plant in the family Marantaceae, native to southeastern Brazil. Under the synonym Goeppertia zebrina this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Hypoestes phyllostachya, the polka dot plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to South Africa, Madagascar, and south east Asia. The spots often merge into larger areas of colour.
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.
Calathea picturata is a species of plant in the family Marantaceae, native to northwest Brazil. It is a clump-forming evergreen perennial growing to 35–40 cm (14–16 in). The leaves are dark green above, purple below, marked heavily with silver along the veins and midriff. It is tender, with a minimum temperature of 16 °C (61 °F) required, and in temperate areas is cultivated indoors as a houseplant.
Kalanchoe manginii, beach bells, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to Madagascar. It is an evergreen succulent perennial growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall and wide, with arching branches of rounded, glossy leaves, and urn-shaped salmon-red flowers in spring. As the minimum temperature for growth is 10 °C (50 °F), in temperate regions this plant must be grown under glass as a houseplant.
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.
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 plant in the family Marantaceae, native to northwest Brazil. It is marketed as a houseplant under its synonym Calathea roseopicta. It is a clump-forming evergreen perennial growing to 50 cm (20 in), very similar in appearance to Goeppertia makoyana. The large rounded leaves are dark green above, red below, marked heavily with cream or pink stripes "painted" along the veins and midrib, with feathered margins.
