About Maranta
Maranta is a genus in the family Marantaceae with about 40 to 50 species. It is native to tropical Central and South America and the West Indies. Its species are clump-forming rhizomatous perennials with oval evergreen leaves that lie flat by day and fold upward toward evening, which gives them the name prayer plant. The flowers have two staminodes (sterile stamens) and a one-chambered ovary, which separates Maranta from Calathea and Goeppertia with one staminode and a three-chambered ovary. Maranta leuconeura is grown as a foliage plant, and Maranta arundinacea is cultivated for arrowroot starch.
Maranta leuconeura is a rhizomatous evergreen perennial in the family Marantaceae, native to eastern and central Brazil. It grows about 30 cm tall and spreads sideways, with oval two-toned leaves up to about 12 cm long. The leaves lie flat during the day and fold upward at night, which is the origin of its common name prayer plant. Small white to purple flowers are produced but often go unnoticed on indoor plants. Varieties include var. kerchoveana, with dark blotches between the veins, and var. erythroneura, with red veins on dark green leaves.
Scientific Name
Maranta
Family
No related plants registered in this genus yet