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Fishbone Prayer Plant

Ctenanthe burle-marxii

Fishbone Prayer Plant
Photo: Benutzer:Callipides, CC BY-SA 2.0 de

Ctenanthe burle-marxii is a perennial houseplant from Brazil, prized for its oval leaves with striking pale and dark stripes that fold up at night. It thrives in bright indirect light and steady moisture, and it does best in humid conditions.

Family
Marantaceae (Prayer-plant family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil lightly moist in the growing season and let the top layer dry slightly between waterings, using soft water.
Soil
Peat-based, well-draining potting mix with added perlite or orchid bark.
Temperature
18–27 °C; protect below 13 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Brazil (Espírito Santo)
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Ctenanthe burle-marxii, commonly known as the fishbone prayer plant, is a species of plant in the genus Ctenanthe native to Brazil. Its common name derives from the alternating pattern of stripes on its oval, pale green leaves, while its scientific name is honor of landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. Similar to other plants in the family Marantaceae, it also has a propensity to close up its leaves at night, which is why it is also called a "prayer plant" like Maranta leuconeura. It grows well as a form of tropical ground cover, often in shade.

Other Ctenanthe plants

Never Never Plant · Ctenanthe lubbersiana · Never Never Plant

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ctenanthe burle-marxii 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.

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