The Variegated Thumb

I’m not actually suggesting a new holiday.  It’s just a clever name for my post.  Although I wouldn’t mind this being a holiday - I already celebrate it everyday.

The National Weather Center - across the street from where I work.

[For those who are interested, I work on the research campus at the University of Oklahoma.  The research campus is made up of about six buildings built over the last 5 years.  These buildings are filled with academics, government groups and private companies (like the one I work for).  The anchor of the research campus is the National Weather Center.]

Aglaonema and a palm tree in the fourier of my office building

My office building (like the others on the campus) is a nice, new facility that has lots of plants in the hallways and office suites.  Plants are added for decoration, as well as to help purify air in the office environment.  This is a pretty trendy thing nowadays, and I guess it has been for quite a while.  What’s cool for me is that some of my favorite plants are those common plants kept as easy-care foliage plants (such as the Aglaonema pictured above).

Ficus tree, Sanseveira (short pot) and a very cool Philodendron

All of the plants are in really nice, huge pots.  And the plants are grouped in twos or threes.  This is my favorite grouping.  I walk by it each morning on my way up the stairs.  The Philodendron is so cool.  I think I might have to ask one of the plant maintainers if I could get a cutting…

Close-up of the really cool Philodendron in the stairwell.

Other common plants in the office building are Dracaenas, Epipremnum ivies and large Bird of Paradise.  Here is a nice grouping of two Dracaenas in the hallway.

Two tall Dracaena warneckii plants in the hallway.

Of course, being the planty guy that I am, all of these great plants scattered throughout the building aren’t enough for me.  I have my own set of plants on my desk: Philodendron hederaceum (’Micans’), Polyscias scutellaria, Scindapsus pictus, Aglaonema sp.  I used to have a Philodendron ‘Brazil’ on my desk, but it got too large and had to be taken home.

A shield Aralia (Polyscias scutellaria) on my desk next to the computer monitor.

The shield Aralia was a birthday gift the first year I started working here, so it’s now about 2 years old and has grown a lot.  I’ve heard that these plants are a little finicky and hard to keep.  No doubt it probably would not be as healthy as it is today if I wasn’t looking at it 5 days a week!  The office environment (and my constant watching eye) has apparently suited it well.

Philodendron hederaceum 'Micans'

My Philodendron ‘Micans’ is starting to grow as rapidly as my Philodron ‘Brazil’ did.  It had to be taken home when our company moved and my desk space was reduced.  I really like it’s rate of growth, but I hope the ‘Micans’ can stick around a while longer.

Scindapsus pictus and Aglaonema on my desk.

In addition to all sorts of health benefits in the office space, plants just make me happy and my work space would be depressing without them.

Do you keep any plants in your workspace?  Or does anyone else in your office?

I have had three recent acquisitions of new plants from generous friends.  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my trip to see Steve Lucas’s tropical atrium.  I mentioned that Steve was kind enough to take cuttings of several of his plants and shared them with me.  I have also received some plants (most of them Aroids) through the mail recently from some of my plant friends.  Plant friends are great!  I thought I would bundle all my new plants into one post.  Most of them are Aroids, but there are a couple of plants from outside the Aroid family.  Here’s all of them:

Philodendron mayoi from Steve Lucas

Steve has A LOT of Aroids, many of them Philodendrons.  This particular Philodendron (P. mayoi) was named after a noted botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London - Dr. Simon Mayo.

Philodendron erubescens from Steve Lucas

Philodendron erubescens has really neat cataphylls that roll up into tight coils.  Many cataphylls are herbaceous, eventually turning papery and falling away.  These cataphylls are more persistent though.  The inflorescence of this Philodendron is a really beautiful red.  There are pictures on Steve’s website, if you’re interested.

Philodendron 69686 from Steve Lucas

This is likely a naturally-occurring hybrid from Brazil, commonly mislabelled as Philodendron Joepii (named after Joep Moonen).  There has been much confusion regarding this plant and it has yet to be given a name.  It retains the number until a registered cultivar name is assigned.

Philodendron mexicanum from Steve Lucas

This is beautiful Philodendron with a wonderful leaf shape and a nice red mottling on the undersides of the leaves.  By the way, Steve told me that noted Aroid collected Roberto Burle-Marx only collected plants for their interesting leaf shapes and didn’t care what their names were.  I found that very interesting.  There are a number of plants named after him.

Philodendron biliettiae from Steve Lucas

This Philodendron has a bright orange stem and very distinctive, long leaves.

Philodendron atabopoense from Steve Lucas

This Philodendron has a really cool coloration.  The undersides of the leaves, which you can’t see from the picture, are red.

Alocasia gageana from Steve Lucas

Steve has so many of these Alocasias spreading in his atrium every year that he has to rip them out and throw them away by the end of the summer season!  Can you believe that?  I helped him by removing one plant this Spring.

Rhaphidophora tetrasperma cuttings from Beth

I have enjoyed pictures of this Aroid for quite a while.  I went in search of a plant and found a friend, as well! :)  A fellow plant enthusiast (Beth in Mississippi) agreed to send me a cutting.  Actually she sent three and included some more surprises in the box, as well!

large variegated Monstera deliciosa cutting from Beth

Monsteras are wonderful Aroids, best known for their leaf fenestrations.  Beth sent me this large cutting of Philodendron ‘Pink Princess’ (below), which is a gorgeous hybrid.  Apparently she has several pots of this plant that each have 5 stems this size!

large Philodendron 'Pink Princess' cutting from Beth

She also threw in two really cool non-Aroid plants - Synadenium grantii ‘rubra’ and a variegated Pedilanthus tithymaloides.

2 stems of Synadenium grantii 'rubra' from Beth - rooting in Vermiculite

Beth told me that Synadenium roots very easily and quickly.  I have planted my two stems in moist Vermiculite, which has been the best rooting substance I have used in the past.  Beth also warned me to be careful with the sap of this plant, which will burn the skin worse than anything else she has ever encountered.  Vegetable oil can be used to remove the sap.

Pedilanthus tithymaloides from Beth

After a little research I found that Pedilanthus is a synonym for Euphorbia.  [I have a gigantic Euphorbia post prepared for Wednesday.  Stay tuned!]  This plants is sometimes called “Devil’s Backbone” or more favorably “Japanese Poinsettia.”  If I’m lucky, it will eventually produce small red or pink flowers at the top of the stems.

Philodendron hastatum from mr_subjunctive

A fellow blogger noticed that I had a plant on my wish list that he had seen locally.  He bought the plant, sent it to me and I reimbursed him for his troubles.  This Philodendron has a different name everywhere you see it.  It is commonly called Philodendron glaucophyllum (or glaucaphyllum), though I am told the true species name is hastatum.  Some common names used are “Silver Metal Philodendron” or “Blue Philodendron.”  Regardless, it is a very cool plant, and this one is in great condition.

Aglaonema 'Gold Dust' division from mr_subjunctive

Mr. Subjunctive had a large Aglaonema that he didn’t mind sharing.  He split off a large division and sent it to me.  He also included another cool, little foliage plant in my box - Pellionia pulchra.  He didn’t provide it’s name right away, to allow me to track it down.  I think I had seen pictures of this plant, but it took me some time before I got to the source.  Along the way I thought it might be in the Cissus genus or possibly even a Begonia.  My wife noted that the leaves are asymmetrical, which is true of all Begonia leaves.  Eventually I found the identity in one of my plant books - Ortho’s Complete Guide to Houseplants.  It’s a Pellionia pulchra, which is in the same family (Urticaceae) as another genus of common foliage houseplants - Pilea.  Pileas are the plants commonly called “Aluminum,” “Watermelon” and “Friendship” plants.

Pellionia pulchra from mr_subjunctive

That’s a lot of new additions!  Thanks, Steve, mr_subjunctive and Beth, for the wonderful plants.

I have been hesitant to write on my plant blog about my bad experiences or flat out failures in raising plants.  I felt that someone who has a plant blog needs to appear to know what they are doing.  But I guess we are all experimenting and I don’t think PETP (People for the Ethical Treatment of Plants) will come after me if I share some of my more trying moments with my friend, Kingdom Plantae.

I live in zone 7A.  This region can get pretty cold during the winter – dropping to around 0 degrees Fahrenheit on occasion.  Needless to say, tropical plants must be brought indoors.  Unfortunately, I don’t (yet) have a greenhouse and my house is not well-suited to keeping hoards of plants over the winter.  My window space is limited and I have some beautiful large trees in my yard which pretty effectively scatter a lot of sunlight before it can make it in the window.  So, I’m limited on where I can put plants in the house over the winter.  It’s a bit of a struggle to keep everything alive until it gets warm again and I can put all my plants back out for some fresh air, circulation, real rain and warm sunshine.  I really should experiment with artificial lighting, but I only this year put most of my plants in one concentrated place where this would be effective.

Anyway, in this little house of mine, live myself, my wife, 2 aquariums with plants and fish, approximately a hundred plants – and 2 dogs.  Those last 2 inhabitants add yet another restriction to where I can place my plants indoors (and outside as well).

I was reading a blog post about Zamioculcas zamiifolia today at Plants are the Strangest People.  [PATSP is an excellent and entertaining blog, so you should check it out.]  In the post, the writer says that ‘ZZ plants’ rarely do anything and they don’t require any grooming since dead leaves are so rare.  I was just thinking about how this plant is nearly indestructible – and yet, I have a couple of dead leaves on my plant.  I felt kind of embarrassed at first, thinking I might be the only person in history who has had trouble keeping a ‘ZZ plant’ – although I’m sure that’s not true.  Then I remembered why my ‘ZZ plant’ has its brown leaves.

And that, my friends, leads us to “the Pee-Wee effect.”  My two canine daughters are a 70ish pound Boxer named Pippa and a 15ish pound Boston Terrier named Pee-Wee.

Pippa and Pee-Wee playing when Pee-Wee was a newborn puppy

Both of our pups been known to chomp a leaf from time to time, but Pippa is usually more trust-worthy than the younger, hyper and erratic Pee-Wee.  My wife and I affectionately refer to Pee-Wee as “the pig” [really it is affection], because of her little round, pink belly and her common snorting noises.  Most of Pippa’s attacks came when she was younger and less mature.

My ZZ plant’s browning leaves were most likely brought on by an assault by Pee-Wee.  There are some little perforations in the affected leaves that could only have been made by the little pig.  If it had been Pippa, there wouldn’t be a plant left.  She destroys all evidence.

Anyway, the “effect” of Pee-Wee’s random plant chewing is almost always that I lose the affected leaves.  I usually don’t do anything after she has messed with one of my plants, hoping that the plant will remain healthy and just have some new features.  I probably should just immediately snip off the affected leaves, though.

Pippa in front of the Christmas tree

Pee-Wee driving the boat

Pee-Wee pretending to be incapable of any wrongdoing

Other plants that Pee-Wee has attacked include my Aglaonema ‘Maria’, a bromeliad, a pineapple plant (which is also a bromeliad), a coconut palm, and a gerbera daisy.  She actually managed to eat the bromeliad and pineapple plant, but she only damaged a couple of leaves on the other plants.  This summer, the pig ripped a leaf (with attached stem) off of my Monstera deliciosa ‘Borsigiana’ and left it lying on the back porch.  I stuck the leaf in water (about 4 inches across with a 10 inch stem) and was surprised to see two fleshy roots appear within a week or so.  So, in one case (and one case only) Pee-Wee has actually helped me propagate a plant.

This year, I have managed to move all plants out of their reach.  I built a small shelf in the extra bathroom in the house where some more plants can get some bright, indirect light.  And I bought a shelf to put in the laundry room, loaded it down with plants and put a baby gate in front of everything on the floor.  The main bathroom in the house, however, has a number of reachable plants on the floor.  So I have to make sure to keep that door closed whenever I leave the house.  Otherwise, I will be sure to come home to some disappointment.

I previously had a post all about Aglaonemas, my favorite emersed species of plant.  To me, Anubias is the aquatic equivalent of Aglaonema – my favorite submerged species of plant.  The similarities begin with the fact that they are both Aroids (a subfamily of the family Araceae).  Each genera is one of the most common “foliage” plant in the houseplant or aquarium hobbies, respectively.  They are both being hybridized constantly and the number of common names is seeming to surpass the number of true unique species.  Most of the plants are known by common names that may or may not identify them as distinct cultivars.  Anubias is not nearly as large of a genus as Aglaonema, but that’s fitting because the number of aquatic species is significantly less than terrestrial species.

Since Anubias are very popular among aquarists (aquarium hobbyists), there is a wealth of information about growing them and a ton of different sources from which you can purchase them on the internet.  However, there is little care for classification.  It kind of surprises me that more aquarists don’t seek to clarify the names of Anubias that are being sold.  So many are just sold under common names or (worse yet) incorrect scientific names.  I have a fascination with the classification and I sure as heck don’t want to buy a plant thinking that it is a species I am not familiar with, only to realize I already have the plant and it was mislabeled!  This is a call to action for all aquarists out there who want to see the hundreds (or at least in the 30s) of apparent varieties of Anubias properly classified. 

Here is my photo album of my collection of Anubias, with some comments on the plants and fish pictured.  Make sure to read the comments.

An excerpt from Wikipedia: “Anubias… [are] native to tropical central and western Africa.  They primarily grow in rivers and streams, but can also be found in marshes. … The genus was revised in 1979 and since then its taxonomy has been stable.  Species can be determined by using mostly characteristics of the inflorescence.”

Conditions and propagation
Anubias are a low light plant – again, like Aglaonemas.  Many aquatic plants require specific lighting (which can be rather expensive) and even CO2 infusion with expensive equipment.  Alternatively, a number of aquarists make their own CO2 infusers, but I haven’t tried that yet.  Anubias thrive in a wider range of temperatures compared with other aquatic plants.  They do very well in unheated indoor aquariums for tropical fish, cold water fish, and even African cichlids.  Anubias can be propagated from cuttings.  Sometimes the rhizome will develop branches that are easily removed.  Otherwise, the rhizome can just be cut in half, producing two plants.  These plants are very slow growing.  Most people say that they grow at the rate of one new leaf every 2-3 months.  I have not put my new leaf formation on the clock yet.  You have to have a quick finger on the stopwatch for these plants!  I should note that they are supposed to grow quicker when their leaves are emersed and only their roots submerged.  I have not had a need or a place to grow them this way, so I don’t really know the comparative rates.

Color variations
Unlike Aglaonemas, Anubias are usually solid green in color.  There are a couple of variegations, which is uncommon in aquatic plant genera.  I have one Anubias barteria var. nana ‘marbled’ plant I bought that is variegated, with most of the leaf white and some speckling of green (pictured in my photo album).  This is a very unique species.  I haven’t really ever seen any others like it.  I also have a couple of Anubias barteri v. coffeefolia, which is a deeper green, with dark ribbing on the leaves.  Also, as new leaves form on this plant the stems appear red and sometimes the new leaves are more yellowish in color, darkening as they mature.  Anubias barteri var. nana ‘gold’ is a color variation of the common nana.  This one is a yellow green color, which could be misconstrued as simply sick.  But it’s not – it’s a true color variation.  You generally won’t see leaves change colors (unless they subsequently rot and die) with Anubias.  Having tolerance for very low light, Anubias don’t usually experience yellowing leaves under different light conditions.  However, an increase of light may benefit the growth of algae on the leaves.  In several cases I have had to cut back the number of hours my aquarium is lit each day to get rid of unsightly algae.

Leaf variations
The species of Anubias that are not barteri are generally distinguished by different leaf shapes.  (All varieties of barteri have an ovular shape.)  Some “varieties” of barteri are currently being sold as either “broad leaf” or “round leaf” or “pointed leaf.”  The combinations are endless, and I have a feeling real botanists or anyone with some experience in true taxonomy would laugh at these being sold as different species.  But then again, I don’t know.  Rather than gain permission from a number of different sources for the reuse of their pictures, here’s a link to the google image search for Anubias.  As you can see, there’s lots of pictures out there.

And here is a link to the Aluka digital library.  They seem to know something about classification of these plants.

Sizes
I have probably about 20 Anubias (about 6 species) and have had quite a bit of success with them.  My oldest is a simple A. barteri v. barteri that I have had for at least 3 years.  Needless to say, even with it’s slow growth, it is much larger than when I bought it.  It’s rhizome is probably about 8 inches long now, and the leaves are reaching the surface of the water, about 14 inches in total height.   I have seen some pictures of some rather large barteri – usually sold as “Monster barteri” or “barteri Mother Plant.”  Generally, the leaf sizes are consistent, but the number of leaves and the size of the plant overall will grow steadily.  Many aquarists would rather have an abundance of plants and will cut apart the creeping rhizome, and spread out the sections of plant in their aquarium.  Still, there are some that allow their plant to grow unrestricted.  I have allowed mine to do this and I’m pretty happy with it.  Even the nanas will grow to be a large clump of leaves over time.  There is really not a limit when the plant is in a favorable environment.  It is becoming increasingly popular to use A. barteri var. nana ‘petite’ as a carpet or foreground.  The leaves are small enough to give the desired look, as long as the aquarium is not too small (scale is important).  The drawbacks are the growth speed and the fact that it does not like to be buried in a substrate.  For this reason, the rhizome needs to be tied down or anchored, without being covered, where it will surely rot in time.  Therefore, in my opinion, nana ‘petite’ is not a very good choice for a carpet plant because of the work required to make it look right and last more than a couple of weeks.  Another small variety is A. barteri var. nana ‘minima.’  This one is still pretty rare and again, I don’t know if it is a true variety/cultivar/forma or maybe just one person’s plant that demonstrates some natural variability.  It is distinguished by small leaves that are longer in shape, more like the afzelli.  I have seen this one in solid green and a splotchy sort of variegation.

Make sure to check out the photo album to see some of my Anubias.

The spunkiest!
To name my favorite species would be kind of difficult, so I will simply talk about some of the distinct traits of my three favorites.  The dark green leaves and even darker veining of A. coffeefolia are striking in an aquarium crowded with bright greens and reds.  Similaryly, the white veins of A. barteri var. nana ‘stardust’ stands out, even with it’s small stature.  I have never had a ‘stardust’ and I have found them to be rather elusive among the couple of websites that sell them from time to time.  A. barteri var. nana ‘marbled’ is quite possibly the only primarily white aquatic plant you will ever see – the only one that I have seen.

List of names I have seen used to identify Anubias
afzelli

angustifolia
congensis
ellipticus
lanceolata (Devil’s Tongue)
rotundifolia
rubescens

bangkok
barteri

angustifolia
barteri
caladifolia
glabra
marble
nana

eyes
gold
marble leaf
minima
petite
stardust
variegata
wrinkled leaf

variegated

caladifolia
cameroon
coffeefolia
congo (congensis on steroids)
frazeri
garbon
gigantea
gilletii
gracilis
hastifolia
heteroclita
heterophylla

undulatus latifolia
undulatus angustifolia
spathulata
pectinatus

kumbaensis
nancon
nangii
narrow leaf
pynaertii
rigidus
round leaf
stardust
yellow heart

Anubias can be purchased from a number of online stores specializing in aquatic plants.  (They can also be found at PetsMart and Wal-Marts from time to time.)  Here’s an incomplete list of some of the best online aquatic stores:
http://www.aquariumplants.com
http://eaquaplant.com/
http://freshwateraquariumplants.com
http://www.azgardens.com/
http://www.aquabotanicstore.com/

There are usually quite a few Anubias for sale on Aquabid, as well.  Aquabid is a wonderful site; it is the eBay for the aquarium hobby.

On any of these sites, they usually have aquatic plants divided into a couple of categories.  Anubias usually fall into the “rooted” and “easy” or “beginner” categories – and of course, when “anubias” is a category you can find them there

I started a plant journal (on paper) in the last month.  I decided to start keeping track of my plants as they grow, as well as document any new plants I get.  I have spent most of my journaling time not talking specifically about my plants, but about plant knowledge I have gained recently.  When Russ sent me a box stuffed full of Aroids, I did a lot of image searching of the different plants he had sent me.  A number of these plants have 2 distinct leaf habits, which is common among many Aroids, especially Philodendrons.  Leaves in the first stage - the immature or juvenile stage - are usually smaller and more simple looking.  Although sometimes the juvenile leaves are more colorful.  When the plant matures leaves can become much larger and often develop splits or holes.  This maturation process is usually instigated by the plant beginning to climb high up the trunk of a tree.  The splits and holes in the leaves enable the large leaves of the plant to be more resistant to wind.  The Epipremnum pinnatum v. ‘Cebu Blue’ that I received from Russ has small, lance-like, pale blue leaves.  As the Cebu Blue matures, the leaves can grow to several feet and have large splits in them.  If you are not familiar with this characteristic of many Aroids, you would find yourself trying to convince me that these could not be the same plant.  But they are!

Many plants displaying the ‘immature’ habits are called ’shinglers.’  I found an International Aroid Society article about these.  The immature flat, round leaves lay up close to the climbing surface, sometimes overlapping and looking like shingles.  One of the best examples of a shingler is a Scindapsus pictus.

I just learned today that the characteristic of multiple distinct leaf habits is called heteoroblastic development.  I think the word is a fitting analogy for my hobby with plants.  My hobby has recently gone through a transformation that makes my old hobby look like a different species of hobbies.  But it’s the same me and the same love of plants that’s underlying this hobby.

Here’s some other miscellaneous knowledge that I recently gained.  Several times in picture captions I have seen a Genus name and then the word ‘NOID.’  ‘NOID’ means ‘No Identification’ or ‘Not identified.’  From what I can tell, this can mean that the person does know what species the plant is, or it has literally not been classified yet.

Also, I’ve known that v. stands for ‘variety’ but I had never even seen ‘f.’ before until Russ was identifying one of my Aglaonemas as A. commutatum v. maculatum f. maculatum.  Apparently f. means ‘forma.’