FOLIAGE PLANTS

Grown mainly for their leaves, foliage plants may also produce flowers. Sometimes these flowers are an added short-term attraction. Sometimes they are insignificant. Occasionally they detract from the appearance of the plant and are best pinched off while in bud.

Foliage plants may be valuable for the shape, texture, or color of their leaves. They are normally of year-round value in the home, although a few, such as cala- diums, die back in winter.

Leaf shape

  

There are literally dozens of different leaf shapes, some of which are particularly attractive and striking. Leaf size, too, varies widely and, together with the shape, plays an important part in the overall effect created by the plant.

Among the many shapes to be found are the bold, handlike leaves of Fatsia

japonica, Japanese aralia; the deeply incised leaf fans of Howea belmoreana, the curly palm; the heart-shaped foliage of Philodendron scandens, the heartleaf philodendron; and the sharp spikes of Yucca elephantipes, the spineless yucca.

The huge leaves of Monstera deliciosa develop slits and holes that give the plant its common name, Swiss cheese plant; and the foliage of Syngonium podophyllum is responsible for the names of goosefoot and arrowhead vine. The needlelike leaves of Asparagus densiflorus ‘Sprengeri’ make it look like a fern.

Many leaves are divided into leaflets, such as the narrow, scalloped fingers of Dizygotheca elegantissima and the umbrella- rib leaves of Schejplera arboricola, the umbrella tree.

The margins of leaves may be waved, crenulated, serrated, or toothed; the bases and tips of each leaf differ in their shapes and patterns. The size of leaves can range from the tiny, bright green pinheads of Nertera granadensis, the bead plant, to the extravagant foliage of Monstera deliciosa and Ficus lyrata, the fiddle leaf fig.

Leaf texture

 

 

Glossy, leathery, corrugated, downy, velvety, spiny, waxy—the texture of leaves can differ as much as their shape and color and can give fascinating visual, as well as tactile, effects. The boldly marked foliage of Begonia rex, painted-leaf begonia, has short, stiff hairs all over the surface, which gives it a rough, sandpaper texture. In contrast, the hairs on the foliage of Gynura ‘Purple Passion,’ the purple passion vine, are soft, producing a plush effect that gives the plant the common name of velvet plant.

The veins stand out prominently on the backs of the leaves of Begonia rex, whereas the raised veins of Maranta leuconeura, the prayer plant, appear on the top surface of the leaf. In between the raised veins, tiny hairs give the maranta leaf a satiny look and feel.

Peperomias have deeply corrugated, winkled leaf surfaces, as do many pileas, including Pilea cadieri, the aluminum plant. The leaves of the rubber plant, Ficus elastica, are thick, glossy, and leath­ery. At the other end of the scale, the delicate, paper-thin, translucent foliage of Caladium x hortulanum has given it the common name of angel wings.

Leaf color

 
 

If asked what color leaves are, most people would unhesitatingly reply “green.” The majority of leaves may be predomi­nantly green, but that is by no means the whole story. Even among plants with c: mpletely green foliage, there are many different shades and subtleties of color. Some greens are so dark as to be almost clack - as in the rubber plant Ficus is Stic a ‘Black Prince’ - while the delicate ' liage of Adiantum raddianum, the delta maidenhair fern, is the fresh, pale green : springtime.

Leaves can be variegated with gold, cream, or white, sometimes around the margin of the leaf, sometimes over its entire surface. These markings may take the form of irregular splashes or mot­tling, or they may occur in a distinctive pattern. The leaf veins are often high­lighted by a contrasting color, and sometimes the leaves are so strongly variegated that they appear to be yellow or white with green markings. Many ivies are attractively variegated: Hedera helix ‘Little Diamond’ has small leaves with silvery edges, and the much larger leaves of H. algeriensis ‘Gloire de Marengo’ are mottled all over with several shades of green, gray, cream, and white.

Variegation in shades of pink and red may also occur: Dracaena marginata ‘Tricolor’ has long slender leaves picked out with fine cream lines and a bright pink edge. In Maranta leuconeura erythroneura, the herringbone plant, the leaves are fascinatingly marked, with bright red veins and an irregular backing of pale green or yellow on the central rib.

 

The green coloring in leaves is chlorophyll, which is essential for plants to be able to make their food satisfac­torily. However, some plants seem to be able to survive with very little chloro­phyll, which gives rise to interesting and unusual leaf colors. Iresine herbstii, the beefsteak plant, for example, is so called because its foliage and stems are a bright red. And some varieties of Begonia rex have leaves of pink, red, silver, and purple, with no green to be seen.

The delicate, paper-thin leaves of caladium are often white or cream with a pink central flush and perhaps just a fine margin of green or green veins. Easier to grow are Coleus blumei, the cheerful flame nettle, and Codiaeum variegatum pictum, known with good reason as Joseph’s coat. Both of these can be found with leaves vividly patterned in a wide range of brilliant—and often gaudy—shades of red, yellow, orange, and brown. The chlorophyll in these nongreen plants is present, but it is well masked by the other pigments.