Black Maranta
- Scientific name: Maranta leuconeura
- Place of origin: Brazilian rainforests.
- Description: Flowering plant with creeping rhizomes; grows to 12in with uniquely marked oval or elongated leaves that have a peculiar habit of lying flat during the day and fold up erect at night and hence called “Prayer Plant”.
- Grow best: Propagate by divisions of the rhizomes. Place in partial sun, in soil composed of equal parts of sand, peat, and leaf-mould. Adequate watering only in summer.
- Use: Indoors as a house plant or in bottle gardens