Family: Araceae
Common name: Crystal Anthurium
Crystal Anthurium is a collectors’ plant admired for its dark green, glossy, heart-shaped leaves and unique white venation. They are native to Central and South America, and and can be grown in warm, humid, tropical weather.
Plant Characteristics
Crystal Anthurium plants can grow to a height of 60-80 cm, an epiphytic plant that loves growing on barks of trees or rough, rocky substrates. They can be grown indoors in temperate weather, provided there is good humidity and sunlight.
Stems of the Crystal Anthurium plant are relatively short, erect, and scaly. They are pale green to light brown, sometimes growing woody at the base of old plants. Roots of the plant are shallow and fibrous, with many epiphytic roots seen outside the soil, to help absorb moisture and nutrition.
The stem does not branch, hence producing a rosette of leaves from the center of the plant. The leaves are eye-catching – large, deep green, glossy, and heart-shaped. The surface is thick and leathery with a waxy coating to prevent the loss of water.
Crystal Anthurium leaves are 40-50 cm long with a smooth margin and pointy tip. The veins of the leaves have a striking white, silver, or pale green pattern that stands out against the dark green leaves, giving the plant its name Crystal Anthurium.
Flowers of the Crystal Anthurium have the typical Spadix and Spathe structure of Araceae plants like Anthuriums and Peace Lilies. The Spadix is a long, cylindrical structure that contains the flowers, and is protected by a leaf-like Spathe.
In Crystal Anthurium, the spadix is cream or yellow in color and the spathe is pale green or white, about 10-12 cm in diameter. These flowers are small and inconspicuous compared to the ornamental, showy foliage.
So these plants are mostly grown as leafy plants and not for their flowers. After pollination, these plants produce small berry-like fruits that contain seeds. Since flowering and fruiting are irregular, Crystal Anthuriums are usually propagated vegetatively.
Gardening Tips
Crystal Anthurium plants prefer indirect sunlight, since direct sunlight can scorch the leaf ends. They love a warm, humid environment and need regular watering, also some misting during summer months. It is good to place the pots in a plate filled with water so that the humidity levels are maintained steady.
The soil should be well-draining and porous containing cocopeat, perlite, and orchid bark. Do not over-water as water-logging can lead to root and stem rot. These plants are not heavy feeders, and so fertilization is needed only once in 3-4 months.
Clean the leaves with a moist cloth to keep them bright and shiny, and also to help it breathe when the air is dusty. Pruning is usually not necessary, but it can remove any diseased or dead leaves.
Plant Crystal Anthuriums in pots slightly bigger than their root mass, and repot only when they fill the pot completely.
Uses of Crystal Anthuriums
These plants are grown as ornamentals in home gardens and landscaped areas, both indoors and outdoors. Like many members of the Araceae family, these plants have air-purifying properties to help remove toxins from the air.
Propagation
Propagation is through layering and root division.
For layering, wrap some sphagnum moss at the base of the plant, cover it with plastic film, and keep it moist. After 3-4 months, the plant will grow a web of roots inside the moss. This can be entangled and the stem with roots can cut into different pieces, each of which can be replanted.
When the plant fills a pot completely, you can repot it and divide the root system carefully into different plants.
Photographed at: Thrissur, Kerala
