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Callisia fragrans
Also called False Bromeliad Plant
In Singapore: Basket Plant, False Bromeliad, 白纹香锦竹草 (Grown in Singapore)
Callisia fragrans, the basketplant or false bromeliad, is a fleshy, trailing succulent-like perennial from Mexico, grown mainly as a houseplant. It thrives in bright indirect light, moist but well-drained soil, and its leaves turn burgundy-violet with more sun.
Callisia fragrans, the false bromeliad, false bromeliad plant or golden tendril, is a flowering plant species of the genus Callisia, in the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae that is native to Mexico.
Callisia fragrans'is endemic to Mexico (from Tamaulipas to Yucatán), and naturalized in the West Indies, scattered locations in the United States, and a few other places. It has been cultivated in many countries as an indoor ornamental since the early 1900s. However, it can be also found growing outdoors in warmer climates in moist, fertile soil. The herb likes partially shaded areas.
It has a rich traditional reputation in Mexico as an antiviral and antimicrobial plant. In Eastern Europe, its leaves are used for the treatment of various skin diseases, burns and joint disorders. An ethanol leaf extract (tincture) has been shown to effectively inhibit the infection of Vero cells by HSV-1, HSV-2 and an ACV-resistant strain of the latter, in vitro. However, the ethanol extract, as opposed to an aquatic extract, was ineffective against VZV.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Callisia fragrans by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
