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I could use a bit of help working out what plant this is. I bought it a couple of months back from a flower cart lady who had a few boxes of random assorted plants.

A few little details:

  • Top of leaves is slightly waxy, underside is matte.
  • The leaves are not fleshy. They're quite papery.
  • It was dormant until a week or two ago when it started sprouting new leaves.
  • The leaves come out of sheaths on the end of the stems.
  • I don't know if it's one plant with branches or multiple individual stems shoved into the same pot. I can't see any evidence of branching.
  • Can't see any evidence of it having had flowers at any point, maybe it's too young.
  • Bought in the UK, but no idea where it could be from originally.
  • It was really cheap (£1) so probably something really easy to grow or propagate.

Thanks! :D

enter image description here

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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Mon
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    Looks like a young Ficus of some sort. F. altissima, F. lyrata or F. benghalensis? – Brenn Feb 12 '17 at 16:53
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    That is what I thought, too, Brenn. Mon, if you are going to use these pots together, elevate the central pot above the surface of the big pot so the soil in the inside pot drains better and never sits in water. Every chance you get check the drainage and discard that extra water! – stormy Feb 12 '17 at 20:16
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    Good call @stormy! @Mon, would you mind creating a small incision along any leaf or stem and let us know if it oozes a white sap? That might narrow our ID to Ficus.... – Brenn Feb 13 '17 at 01:08
  • Hey! @Brenn I did a small incision on the side of a leaf and it did indeed ooze a white sap! So some kind of ficus, you are right!! I have a Lyrata, and the two don't quite seem to match, this little guy grows its leaves fairly spindly whereas the Lyrata keeps em close to the stem. Its much older leaves do have a very similar texture to the mystery plant, so a close relative maybe? It's tricky finding the leaf shape that matches.. – Mon Feb 13 '17 at 07:58
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    @stormy I do elevate them a bit :) I use little lumps of styrofoam wrapped in duct tape then taped to the bottom of the pots (not on the holes of course). Some pots come with little 'legs' - they all should tbh. And mop up any water I find after 20min, then check it the next day. I learned the hard way with one of my palms that sadly died from a mix of fluoride toxicity and root rot :( – Mon Feb 13 '17 at 08:04
  • I'm leaning towards F. altissima because of the telltale light green venation but wouldn't be sure unless it were to become a more mature specimen (or if it flowered/fruited). – Brenn Feb 13 '17 at 16:32
  • @Brenn What about F. Aubrey (benghalensis)? I was googling through images and this little guy looks VERY similar: https://zimmerpflanzen-faq.de/ficus-benghalensis/ It even has the tiny white bumps all over the upper side of the leaf which I originally thought it mine were some leftover damage from pests. The Altissima looks really similar too, though from what I can tell, it tends to have more of a nib/point to its leaves? I guess age and flowers will confirm it! – Mon Feb 13 '17 at 17:15
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    Yes indeed! It very well could be F. benghalensis. Good find. It might take a Ficus expert to be able to specify at this point in its life however. – Brenn Feb 13 '17 at 17:41
  • Well, Mon...super solution to lift bottom off surface. Huh. – stormy Feb 13 '17 at 21:45

1 Answers1

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It kind of looks like a Medinilla Megnifica. They are a genus within the Melastomataceae.

I could be wrong about which type it is, but it definately looks like it could fit right in with the Medinilla genus of flowering plants.

Has it Bloomed pink yet? It may yet be too young but if it does bloom nice pink flowers, it may be a Medinilla.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/25/80/ee/2580ee891c9384e2d9c258641615f75b.jpg

brandon
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