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Never Never Plant

Ctenanthe oppenheimiana

Never Never Plant
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ctenanthe oppenheimiana, the never-never plant, is an evergreen perennial from Brazil grown for its striped leaves; the 'Tricolor' cultivar is a popular houseplant. Keep it warm, humid and out of direct sun.

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; use soft water.
Soil
Peat-based or humus-rich potting mix with good drainage.
Temperature
18–27 °C; protect below 15 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Brazil (Bahia)
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

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. (confirmed 2017). This cultivar is visually very similar to Stromanthe sanguinea 'Triostar', and the two are often confused.

Other Ctenanthe plants

Never Never Plant · Fishbone Prayer Plant · Ctenanthe lubbersiana

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 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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