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adriank_gw

Identity Crisis

AdrianK
10 years ago

So, i set up my first terrarium and aquired a few 'tropical' plants for it, unfortunately the garden centre i bought them from doesnt tag the 'mini' plants. First here's a picture of the entire terrarium.
The plants i do know what they are:
Sarracenia Catesbei,
Fittonias,
Ceropegia woodii,
Phalaenopsis (mini),
Polystichum tsus-simanse (one of the ferns),

(it seems i can only post 1 picture at a time so ill post the unidentified plants in following messages under the post)

Comments (28)

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Slightly thickish waxy leaves that are red underneath

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Similar leaves to plant 1 but not as thick and the leaves are purple underneath

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Little bushy plant with tiny pink/purple flowers

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Little fern with leave lobes that resemble ginko leaves

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Another unidentified fern

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Plant looks like a ground cover plant with little thick waxy leaves

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Looks like a mix between a palm and a bamboo

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ok this one doesn't even look like it's actually a tropical plant. It has extremely thick leaves with little teeth all along the edges.

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ok finally this one is not in the terrarium but it is a very interesting specimen indeed, which i have no idea what it actually is. Its obviously a cactus, but it also has normal fleshy leaves...

    Any help would be much appreciated!

  • RugbyHukr
    10 years ago

    1. Peperomia
    2.Phaedranassa?
    3. Anagallis arvensis
    4. Adantium capillus-veneris

  • nonmember_gw
    10 years ago

    #3 Exacum

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    purple flower.. Persian violet

    i swear i have seen this setup before.. have we gone thru this before...

    and dont get me wrong.. i am not complaining.. i am surprised that brain cell survived.. lol

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: link

  • TamiO3
    10 years ago

    #4 is Button Fern (common name)

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Awesome! Thank you all very much! So i looked the suggestions up quick and the results are as follow:

    Plant #1: Most certainly is a Peperomia indeed, later when i have more time ill try see exactly what species it is.

    Plant #2: Phaedranassa? I don't know, i can't really find any good pictures of the leaves, the flowers are very characteristic so if it does decide to flower sometime ill know :)

    Plant #3: Exacum affine (Persian flower) looks like a match! Little purple flowers with a yellow centre and fragrance (sorry i should have added that in the original post).

    Plant #4: Adantium capillus-veneris (aka: Southern maidenhair fern, black maidenhair fern, and venus hair fern) looks like it is the right one to! (it's not the button fern as they have round/oval leaves, but i sure would like to add a plant endemic to New Zealand to my collection).

    So plants 1, 3 and 4 have positive identifications (and potentially 2), thank you all so much! Extremely helpful! :)

    p.s. Ken_Adrian i highly doubt you've seen this exact set-up before as i only build it three days ago (furthermore its the first terrarium ive ever done, and the first time ive used the forum) But your most probably correct in thinking youve seen it before, others surely have made an extremely similar set-up, if not coincidentally identical, haha. It seemed a bit much to go through 67 pages of forum posts.

    Thanks again!

    So only plants # 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 that remain a mystery still

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    The 2nd plant looks like Tradescantia zebrina.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    oh dont get me wrong.. i garden outside..

    i like seeing your version ...

    it was a memory question.. not a criticism of you using us.. even if twice ...

    what are you going to put in there .. animal/bug/insect/turtle/frog.. etc???

    welcome to gW.. and have fun with your indoor rainforest ....

    ken

    ps: i lose interest.. when there are more then 2 or 3 pix per post .... i simply am not going to flip up and down... over and over ... and i can think of no other reason.. these wizards can NOT name 5 plants .... it is usually preferred that you do multiple posts with one or two plants.. and you might get answers if you did ... and dont forget the houseplant forum ....

  • missingtheobvious
    10 years ago

    What Ken might be remembering is the leaf with the distinctive red veins at the bottom left of photo #4 (it also appears in the upper left on photo #8).

    Someone else posted the same plant for an ID that same day.

    The OP didn't ask about that one, but in case he needs the ID, this is the thread:
    http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/namegal/msg0817032721905.html?9

    8 looks to me like an aloe zebrina or something similar.

    6 is, I think, a sedum.

  • MissCactus
    10 years ago

    #8 are some kind of aloe vera i think. it is a tropical plant. ^^,
    the jelly that you could gain from it are superb for your skin & hair. :)

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yes, plant #2 is indeed a Tradescantia zebrina! Has cute flowers to so looking foward to that. Thank you!

    Plant #8 i thought was some type of aloe allready, and looking it up now does seem to be the aloe zebrina :) Very handy indeed, and its always good to have plants with actual uses too ;) Also relieving to know it is tropical to, so hopefully then it will be happy in the little rainforest.

    Plant #6: does appear to be a sedum, now only to figure out exactly which one :P hehe.

    Aaa the good old fittonias, yeah i got 3 different varieties in there so that site will be usefull for figuring out what cultivar, thanks.

    As i live in a little appartment with absolutely no outside area, all i can do is indoor gardening. On all my windowsills i got potted plants sitting, and the terrarium is the newest edition. One day ill definitly get a place with a garden so i can do some reall horticulture ;)
    For now i am indeed loving the little rainforest. Thanks for the advice Ken. For now im not planning on putting any animals or critters is, keeping it green ;) well besides for all the bugs that decide to move in by their own accord, but thats why theres the carnivorous pitcher in there ;)
    Nearly have them all identified so it worked out far better than i even imagined, thanks again everybody!

  • AdrianK
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    So i was on the cactus forum and plant #9 is probably Monadenium ritchiei ssp. nymbayense
    (Syn: Euphorbia ritchei ssp. nymbayense), if anyones interested.
    So only plants #5 and #7 are still unknown :)

  • missingtheobvious
    10 years ago

    #6 might be Sedum tetractinium (there are various colors). But I'm not sure of the scale of yours -- or the scale of the ones I've seen online.

    #7 might be Neanthe bella, aka parlor palm. Compare the trunk of yours with photos online.

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    #6 looks like Portulaca to me, if not Sedum. Did it ever make flowers?

    Looking again, worried about #8 rotting in there.

    How is this going?

    The tradescantia zebrina would make me nervous in there. It's capable of running all over the other plants, and entire surface area fairly quickly. Was it in a specific section of mini plants also? If so, I totally disagree with that. It has leaves that are much too big for any mini garden, and grows much too quickly.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    Yes, as Purple implied, 6 and 8 are succulents. They don't strike me as good choices for a terrarium.

  • gregorson
    10 years ago

    No 2 from end, Haworthia ?

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    #8 is not an aloe vera. It might be a soap aloe. Not one you want to use on your skin. It is cold hardy in the south and has a orange or red bloom.

  • rosemariero
    10 years ago

    I'm not sure, but I think you may have all of your plants named.

    In case something was missed, here's my take on them:

    1. Peperomia
    2. Tradescantia
    3. Exacum
    4. Adiantum, Maidenhair Fern
    5. Nephrolepsis, type of Ruffle Fern
    6. Sedum tetractinum, Chinese Stonecrop
    7. Neathe bella, Parlor Palm
    8. Aloe hybrid
    9. Monadenium ritchei

  • saltcedar
    10 years ago

    7. Neathe bella, Parlor Palm is now Chamaedorea elegans.

  • HoosierBob SW Indiana Zone 5
    10 years ago

    I have an alternate suggestion for #7...you mentioned that it looked like a cross between a palm and a bamboo. I think it could be Chamaedorea erumpens. It's foliage looks a lot like elegans, but rather than having all leaves anchored near the base of the plant, it gets tall bamboo-like stems with the leaves arranged up and down the bamboo-like stems. Check out the picture in the link.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Chamaedorea erumpens

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