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Pilea microphylla
Also called Artillery Plant, Lace Plant, Creeping Charly, Gunpowder Plant, Military Fern, Pistolplant, Artillery Plant, Gunpowder Plant
In Singapore: Artillery Plant, Gunpowder Plant, Pistol Plant (Grown in Singapore)
Pilea microphylla, commonly called artillery plant or rockweed, is a tiny-leaved, low-growing succulent-looking annual that forms dense creeping mats. It thrives in warm, humid conditions with bright filtered light and regular moisture.
Pilea microphylla, also known as angeloweed, artillery plant, joypowder plant, lace plant, is an annual plant native to Florida, Mexico, the West Indies, and tropical Central and Southern America. In Guadeloupe and Martinique the local name is ti-teigne or teigne, and in Latin America it is brilhantina. In the southern part of México, specifically in the Yucatán peninsula, the local name is frescura. The plant belongs to the family Urticaceae. It has light green, almost succulent, stems and tiny leaves. It is grown as a ground cover in many areas.
Pilea microphylla can be propagated by dividing the root ball, or taking herbaceous cuttings and rooting them with rooting hormone. The plant enjoys a thorough watering after the soil has been allowed to dry, and misting has been shown to be beneficial. Direct sunlight causes the leaves to turn brown and fall off, so it prefers filtered light.
Aluminium Plant · Depressed clearweed · Friendship plant · Pilea mollis · Chinese money plant · Pilea serpyllacea · Clearweed
[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 Pilea microphylla 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.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
