Can you identify this house plant?
March 8, 2016 4:07 PM Subscribe
Can you identify this house plant?
Images here.
I found some images of String of Nickels plants that look like this plant, but the description does not match, and many images look totally different.
The leaves do not seem anything like succulent leaves. They are are completely flat and aren't three-dimensional or hollow or fleshy. The texture and thickness is very similar to a pothos leaf.
Thanks!
Images here.
I found some images of String of Nickels plants that look like this plant, but the description does not match, and many images look totally different.
The leaves do not seem anything like succulent leaves. They are are completely flat and aren't three-dimensional or hollow or fleshy. The texture and thickness is very similar to a pothos leaf.
Thanks!
Best answer: http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/wax-plant.html
posted by Oyéah at 5:22 PM on March 8, 2016
posted by Oyéah at 5:22 PM on March 8, 2016
Best answer: Yeah, I'd also ID it as a Hoya, possibly H. carnosa.
posted by vegartanipla at 5:26 PM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by vegartanipla at 5:26 PM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Awesome! Mine is 3 years old and has never ever bloomed - any idea if that's unusual or indicative of a specific variety?
posted by peep at 5:51 PM on March 8, 2016
posted by peep at 5:51 PM on March 8, 2016
Best answer: Going to buck the consensus and say it's an Aeschynanthus sp. that's slightly etiolated from being grown under not quite enough light. (Best guess would be A. radicans.)
Hoya leaves are usually more textured, with bumps and hollows in them. They're always thicker than a pothos leaf. They usually but not always will have flecks of silver/gray on the top surface of the leaf, and tend not to line up parallel with one another: individual leaves will face different directions.
Aeschynanthus, on the other hand, tend to be pretty plain: the slightly depressed midvein is the only real feature. A. lobbianus or A. radicans are usually plain green (though I think rare variegated varieties with white margins exist). They're also thicker than a pothos leaf, but not as thick as a Hoya. Leaf pairs tend to be oriented in the same direction, and face nearly the same direction as neighboring pairs of leaves.
Both Hoya and Aeschynanthus can sometimes have small hairs covering the stem and leaf margins, but it's usually more visible in Aeschynanthus.
Sample photos: A. 'Mona Lisa' (a hybrid)
A. lobbianus (also)
A. radicans (also)
Hoya carnosa (also)
posted by Spathe Cadet at 5:35 PM on March 9, 2016
Hoya leaves are usually more textured, with bumps and hollows in them. They're always thicker than a pothos leaf. They usually but not always will have flecks of silver/gray on the top surface of the leaf, and tend not to line up parallel with one another: individual leaves will face different directions.
Aeschynanthus, on the other hand, tend to be pretty plain: the slightly depressed midvein is the only real feature. A. lobbianus or A. radicans are usually plain green (though I think rare variegated varieties with white margins exist). They're also thicker than a pothos leaf, but not as thick as a Hoya. Leaf pairs tend to be oriented in the same direction, and face nearly the same direction as neighboring pairs of leaves.
Both Hoya and Aeschynanthus can sometimes have small hairs covering the stem and leaf margins, but it's usually more visible in Aeschynanthus.
Sample photos: A. 'Mona Lisa' (a hybrid)
A. lobbianus (also)
A. radicans (also)
Hoya carnosa (also)
posted by Spathe Cadet at 5:35 PM on March 9, 2016
Response by poster: Interesting. I've been taking only minimal care of this thing - it's an office plant. I was trying to ID it so I could give it more ideal care. It was looking pretty leggy and sparse and I wanted to bring it back to optimal health.
I'm just going to proceed with some general best practices for the Hoya and Aeschynanthus and see if I can get this thing to bloom! That would give a more definitive ID.
posted by peep at 10:29 AM on March 10, 2016
I'm just going to proceed with some general best practices for the Hoya and Aeschynanthus and see if I can get this thing to bloom! That would give a more definitive ID.
posted by peep at 10:29 AM on March 10, 2016
Brighter light should improve the odds of blooming in either case. Both plants can take a few hours of direct sun per day, but try to increase the light gradually so the leaves don't sunburn.
It will probably take a while to get flowers -- I haven't grown A. radicans in a long time, but the other two Aeschynanthus species I have both bloom for a few weeks between June and September; exactly when that few weeks starts varies from year to year. Hoyas are, in theory, capable of blooming at any time, but also tend to bloom in summer because that's when the light tends to be strongest.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 12:09 PM on March 10, 2016
It will probably take a while to get flowers -- I haven't grown A. radicans in a long time, but the other two Aeschynanthus species I have both bloom for a few weeks between June and September; exactly when that few weeks starts varies from year to year. Hoyas are, in theory, capable of blooming at any time, but also tend to bloom in summer because that's when the light tends to be strongest.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 12:09 PM on March 10, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Oyéah at 5:16 PM on March 8, 2016