Native to South America, Marcgravia is a truly fascinating genus of little vines. Making their way up from the shaded, dense understory, stems will cling tightly to tree trunks, allowing support for the leaves to size up and the plant to produce mature foliage that grows perpendicular to the original vine, long, overlapping intricate velvety leaves that dazzle like nothing else. However, for the purposes of the average collector; the genus is a small, colorful vine that provides perfect backdrops to well-scaped terrariums. This species in particular, Marcgravia rectiflora, holds a gentle orange colored stem with lime green, softly scalloped leaves that grow opposite off it. To root a piece of Marcgravia, the stem should be pressed against sphagnum moss and kept in humidity of 90% or higher-this is a genus of only terrarium plants, and is not suitable for ambient conditions. However, for the collector who’s adequately equipped, there is little more beautiful than a well-established Marcgravia.
