Episode 242: a look at Pilea - beyond the Chinese money plant

Pilea spruceana ‘Norfolk’. Photograph: Shutterstock.

Subscribe to On The Ledge via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Player FM, Stitcher, Overcast, RadioPublic and YouTube.

Become a Patron!

Support Me on Ko-fi

Transcript

Episode 242

Jane Perrone 0:15
Hello, and welcome to On The Ledge houseplants. No. That's not what it is called. Oh, I've had a week off and it's all gone to pieces. Let's try that again. Hello, and welcome to On The Ledge podcast, the podcast that's simply a show about houseplants. And in this week's episode, I'm talking about Pilea.

Jane Perrone 0:46
Join me in a round of applause for Cara and Megan who've both become Ledge Ends this week, joining the clan of Patreon supporters, thank you very much to you too. And if you want to find out about becoming a Patreon supporter of this here show, check out the show notes at Janeperrone.com. My newsletter, the Plant Ledger is out this lunchtime. It's gone, it's out there. But you can still read it online if you go to Janeperrone.com/ledger. All 17 editions of the newsletter are available online to read if for some reason you don't want to subscribe.

Jane Perrone 1:26
And I thought I'd just bring you a couple of headlines from that newsletter to give you a taster of the kinds of things that I talk about. So, in news terms, there's an interesting story about a company called Neoplant, a startup in France. And they have released the Neo P1, which is genetically modified Epipremnum aureum - that devil's ivy or golden pothos, depending on your preference - that's been genetically modified to remove VOCs - volatile organic compounds, basically pollutants - from the air at a rate of 30 times higher than any other houseplant. Well, that's what the press release says anyway. This is not the first time it's been done. But it is the first time I think as far as I can see that a company is trying to sell these plants to you. And I think you can get on a waiting list right now for one, but they do cost $179. It's an interesting development, I'm really fascinated to see where this goes. And whether this opens up a whole new world of enhanced plants that can do extra things for us. But as I discovered writing my book, Legends of the Leaf, which is out next year, there are loads of things that house plant species can do right now, without being genetically modified, that are amazing that we're only just cottoned on to. So I hope there's going to be more research into those things too. So that's everything from dealing with soil pollution, removal of heavy metals from the soil using species like Sansevieria to researching materials that stay clean using the qualities that some plants have known as superhydrophobicity, so they can just bounce water off.

Jane Perrone 3:23
You may know that the lotus plant is probably the poster plant for this particular skill. But Oxalis triangularis also has superhydrophobicity too And on the theme of Legends of the Leaf, you can now preorder your copy on Amazon, as well as on Unbound's website: my publisher is Unbound, and also on the Foyles bookshop website if you're in the UK, and you're not a fan of Amazon. So things are moving forward. I've got the proofs on my desk right now, and I'm looking at them and I'm pretty happy with this book so it's happening people!

Jane Perrone 4:02
Oher news from the newsletter though the Plant Ledger news section always has mention of the latest shop openings and closings on that front Leafy Love Affair in Edinburgh is closing sadly, due to price increases due to the cost of living crisis here in the UK. Meanwhile, Windowsill plants is moving to its first permanent premises in Market Harborough, which is in Leicestershire, having been a pop up and market based operation up till now. So congratulations to the owner of that business Susie Lichtman. And if you want more news from the UK houseplant scene, do go and check out the plan ledger

Jane Perrone 4:44
At the top of that newsletter, I focus on three underrated genera that contain interesting houseplants this week. And for this episode of On The Ledge, I'm gonna go a little bit deeper into the genus Pilea. Now most of us know that the Chinese Money Plant Pilea peperomioides is part of this genus, but there are so many more interesting houseplants in this genus. To put this in context, the genus Pilea is part of the nettle family. That's the Uticaceae. And there are about - well it depends on which taxonomist you agree with - but about 600/700 species in this genus, and they are widely spread around the world.

Jane Perrone 5:39
There are species that come from North America, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, but none from Australia or New Zealand. Now, what are some of the species names that you might be familiar with as houseplants? And the first one I want to talk about is Pilea libanensis - this is reckon is the second most popular Pilea species. I don't have any firm data to back that up but that's my gut feeling because I tend to see this one about more than the other members of this genus. Aside from obviously the all conquering Chinese Money Plant. Pilea libanensis is often misidentified, I think it's gotten a little bit better, people have realised that it is not Pilea glacua, or Pilea glaucophylla. Both of those names are taxonomically incorrect. But Pilea libanensis is the proper name, and it's often marketed as 'Silver SPrinkles' or baby's tears sometimes. And I've also seen it given the cultivar name, 'Greyzy' - is that attributed to the British rapper Stormzy? I suspect I'm on a bit of a flight of fancy with that thought. But these are the things that pop into your head when you read cultivar names and make some kind of association that probably isn't there. I wish it was named after Stormzy though that would be really cool. But I suspect that's not the case. This plant is rather delicate looking, and has these reddish wiry stems which kind of flow down in a waterfall and then tiny green leaves with a silvery flecks to them. And depending on how much light it's getting, that will impact as to how silvery it looks.

Jane Perrone 7:39
Warning about this plant, it does tend to get a little bit messy. So oftentimes, particularly if conditions aren't exactly right, you'll find that you'll lose a load of these tiny leaves, they'll crisp up and fall and you'll have a mess on the floor. You probably if you give the plant a shake, you'll probably find that a lot of dead leaves will fall off. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the plant, it just means that it's turning over those leaves fairly quickly because they're quite small. The effect may obviously be worsened if your plant is getting erratic watering, but it can be a bit of a messy one. That's just the way Pilea libanensis rolls. So this species comes from Cuba and is used to growing in damp, tropical climes. But I actually find this one is a lot more tolerant of drying out than other Pileas, which really often do better in a terrarium setup or a wick watering setup. But myPilea libanensis, while it has dried out, and it just comes back quite straightforwardly, it's not as fussy, I think because it's got so many little tiny leaves that, you know, if you do lose a few stalks, you can just chop a bit off, and the rest will regenerate. So average room conditions, it seems to do okay, and it will grow into quite a big sort of cascade if you let it.

Jane Perrone 9:08
Next up on the list. We're going old school here. This is a plant that was popular back when I was young, many many moons ago. The common name for this one is silver tree - Pilea spruceana. And I really like the colour combo that you get on these leaves their chocolate with silver stripes. It's a great terrarium plant. This one's from South America, parts of Venezuela and Peru and Ecuador. Again, another sort of wet tropical plant. The leaves are a little bit pleated, they're not completely smooth and that's part of its appeal.

Jane Perrone 9:47
You'll sometimes find a cultivar called 'Norfolk' of this species and I think the main characteristics of that are just that the pleating is a bit more dramatic. Now despite having the word 'tree' in the name, this is not going to turn into a tree it's quite actually quite a small plant that tends to stay quite, that doesn't get huge. It's one of those things that does need frequent cutting back in order to stay looking good and a plant again that I would always be taking cuttings off so that you can revive it if it does. to use a technical term, go plonk, as we say in my house. There's a really nice cultivar called 'Ellen' which has got very very silvery leaves, the chocolate's almost gone and the leaves look really metallic and beautiful.

Jane Perrone 10:37
If this plant does flower you will understand why the Pileas are members of the nettle family because the flowers are tiny and bobbly, and another technical term there, and they do look like nettle flowers. If you're looking for another Pilea for a terrarium, try Pilea 'Moon Valley'. Now this one is I think, from the species involucrata you'll sometimes see it labelled as Pilea mollis. But I think that involucrata is the correct specific epithet, correct species name for this cultivar and the leaves are just intensely corrugated chocolatey brown on the inside, and lime green on the outside. They remind me of those sweets called chocolate limes. Have you ever had those? They're sort of hardboard sweets they called chocolate limes, they remind me of that the colour combination is exactly that. But you've got this gorgeous pleasing on top such a beautiful leaf I could study it for hours. Now both this and spruce, IANA do not need high light levels they'll be fine in its most terrarium names that have got a in a regular room lighting and those flowers well if you don't like them, you can chop them off and make the blanc concentrate on leaves. It is one that will get more gangly as it grows, so keep it snipped back and compact, particularly if it's in a terrarium. More Pilea chat to come but now let's hear from this week's sponsor.

Jane Perrone 12:14
This week's show is supported by Cozy Earth, the premium bedding company that helps you get the deep restorative sleep you need. Bedtime is literally my favourite time of day so it's really important that my bed is the most comfortable place it can be. I got to try out a set of Cozy Earth sheets and they really are so comfortable. Cozy Earth's high quality bedding is responsibly sourced and made from soft and sustainable viscose that comes from bamboo fabrics. Bundle up in Cozy Earth pyjamas made from ultra soft viscose from bamboo this holiday season. Now available in holiday hues. Want to give the gift of a good night's rest with Cozy Earth? On The Ledge listeners can take up COzy Earth's exclusive offer today. Get 40% off site wide at cozyearth.com using code LEDGE. That's Cozyearth.com and use code LEDGE for 40% of now.

Jane Perrone 13:23
Now I do like a plant that's what I would refer to as a double edged sword and Pilea micophylla is exactly that. It's commonly known as the artillery plant, or the pistol plant because of its power to puff out its pollen when the flowers or the plant as a whole are touched. I mean, this is something actually that Pilea peperomioides does as well. It's just that the Chinese money plant doesn't tend to flower indoors, because most of us don't get it cold enough it Pilea peperomioides needs a cold snap to flower. So you probably haven't seen your flower but if it did, it would do this same thing. You touch it and poof! you get a load of pollen coming out, which I presume is a pollination aid. And it's very different from Moon Valley or from spruceana because the leaves' main quality is that they're really really, really small. The leaves are absolutely tiny on this, a couple of millimetres across maybe. And the overall effect you get looking at the plant comes from the mass of leaves rather than looking at any one individual leaf. There are a few different cultivars you'll find a variegated version called you guessed it variegata, if you like the sort of pink plant theme then variegata is tinged pink too. And I think there are some large leaved cultivars of this around too. It's not that easy to find though. Funnily enough, it is a bit of a curse of nursery people because it will seed around everywhere if grown in the nursery, so it's seen as a bit of a weed, and you will find it occasionally in garden centres. But it's not that easy to lay your hands on these days for some reason, like so many of these species in the Pilea genus.

Jane Perrone 15:14
One of the other great things about the members of this genus Pilea, is that as far as I know - I always make that small caveat - None of the species that are grown as houseplants that I've come across, are toxic to pets, or indeed humans. So this is a good choice if you have small kids or cats or dogs or any other creature that might be nibbling. without you knowing, and Pilea should all be fine.

Jane Perrone 15:44
There are some plots that really take me back to my childhood and one of these is the aluminium plant, Pilea cadeiri. Now, if you're in America, let me translate that's aluminum plant. Yes, here in the UK, we do pronounce aluminium as aluminum because we spell this word with two 'i's. Whereas in North America, it's only spelt with one i. Neither of us is right or wrong, it's just a little cultural difference. This is a plant that I remember circling in my Dr Hessyaon Houseplant book early on in my houseplant career. And I certainly had a few of these over the years. As I've said with spruceana and 'Moon Valley', This is one that again, is going to get a little bit leggy if you let it grow on. It's one of those plants that I would describe as a 'short lived perennial'. So you probably want to take lots of cuttings and keep it going that way. For reasons I can't explain, there don't seem to be any cultivars of Pilea cadierei i that I've come across, I think I might have seen a compact version called Minima. But other than that, I am drawing a blank for cultivars of this plot. Now, I said at the beginning that Pileas come from different parts of the world. And this one is actually from China and Vietnam, as opposed to the other species we've talked about. And this one has got its name from the silver markings on the leaves. And this is not actually a pigment, it's blister variegation. So that means there's a gap - a space in the layers of tissue of the leaf that allows light to bounce back up. And this is common to quite a few different plants, Hoyas ihave it in the form of what we call splash or what's often called Splash those silvery marks, as do other houseplant species.

Jane Perrone 17:41
Now, we all know how to take cuttings of the Chinese money plant Pilea peperomioides because it produces these very abundant babies once the plant is mature. With all the other species I've mentioned, it's easy enough to take stem cuttings, which will propagate very well in a prop box or I would probably do it in a glass of water to be honest. And one other thing about the name, it's also sometimes called the watermelon Pilea because of those silvery markings in the same way that Peperomia argyreia is known as the watermelon Peperomia. I did have this weird fancy that I could grow watermelon Peperomia watermelon Pilea and watermelon begonia, which is actually Pellionia repens together as kind of a watermelon area in my home. However, I lost my Pellionia repens to scale so that's not on the cards for now, but maybe somebody else could replicate this. I think they'd probably all do. Okay, group together those three plants. It might be a bit of fun. If you fancy setting up a watermelon garden in your home.

Jane Perrone 18:51
Now if you're thinking to yourself, well, Jane, I actually have all of those Pileas already and this is very dull, and I want to try something new. Not something I already have. Well, don't fear. I have something for you too. And it's called Pilea hitchcockii. Now this one like libanensis is often sold by a different name. And it's often given the cultivar name 'Dark Mystery', which I guess probably is something to market it around Halloween time I would imagine it's quite as simple as that. I've seen this in a few shops now, I know growtropicals has had it and also North One garden centre. And you can see why it's called 'Dark Mystery'. The leaves are dark, dark, reddy chocolatey colour with tones of silver in there as well and they're longer and almost fern-looking actually but though this is definitely a Pilea, and this one is native to Colombia and Ecuador. Similar conditions to Spruceana. I haven't grown this One its silhouette gives me a dark haired Sideshow Bob vibes, which I'm rather enjoying, so perhaps I'll give it a go. If you've grown Pilea hitchcockii, let me know how you've got on with it. I think it's one of those plants that probably will do best in a nice humid cabinet or maybe a terrarium.

Jane Perrone 20:19
So that's my roundup of delicious Pilea species to grow us house plants. What have I left out? Tell me in an email today. I'd love to hear from you. It's ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com.

Jane Perrone 20:45
That is all for this week's show. Thank you as ever for lending me your ears as we chat about plants. And the show will now be running all the way up to Christmas without a break, so lots more episodes for you to enjoy. If you want to get in on my Christmas mailout for Patreon subscribers at the legend and superfan level, then become a patron by November the 21st 2022 at the latest. That's my cutoff point. And I'll be beavering away working on those cards over the next few weeks. Until next Friday though, have a fantastic week. Take care of yourself, take care of your plants and don't forget to breathe!

Jane Perrone 21:51
The music you heard in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by The Joy Drops, The Road We Used to Travel When We Were Young by Komiku and Sundown by Josh Woodward. The ad music was Holiday Gift by Kai Engelget angry. All Tracks are licenced under Creative Commons. Visit the show notes for details.

There is more to the genus Pilea than the Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides): I discuss some of my favourite species, including the artillery plant and the aluminium plant.

Want to catch up on all the latest new from my newsletter, including GM devil’s ivy and the latest plant shop openings and closures? Subscribe now.

Check out the notes below as you listen…

View fullsize

Pilea ‘Moon Valley’. Photograph: Shutterstock.

View fullsize

Pilea libanensis. Photograph: Jane Perrone.

• The genus Pilea includes around 6-700 species, spread across large swathes of the world including North and South America, Africa and Asia. It is part of the nettle - Urticaceae - family.

• None of the Pilea species used as houseplants are - as far as I know - toxic to pets or humans.

• Probably the best known species in the genus in houseplant terms is Pilea peperomioides, the Chinese money plant.

• A general Pilea houseplant note for all the species listed below - they all get gangly in time, so take cuttings regularly and don’t be afraid to cut it back. Chop off the rather boring plants if you wish to put the plant’s energies into foliage.

• Pilea libanensis is also popular, but often mislabelled as P. glauca or P. glaucophylla: it is native to Cuba. This plant does well in regular room conditions, but it can be messy and drop lots of its tiny leaves, especially if it is watered erratically. In higher light conditions, the leaves will turn more silvery.

• Pilea spruceana aka silver tree is a really beautiful species with its chocolate and silver tones. It’s from Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador and does well in a terrarium or a self watered pot. Cultivar ‘Norfolk’ (pictured at the top) has more pleated leaves.

• Pilea involucrata ‘Moon Valley’ (pictured above right) has wonderfully corrugated leaves in lime and chocolate. Another great terrarium plant. Sometimes labelled Pilea mollis.

• Pilea microphylla aka the artillery plant or pistol plant has teeny tiny leaves: its party trick is puffing out pollen when the flowers are touched. Not easy to find, but the variegated form is charming and has a pink tinge. Considered a weed by some nursery growers as it self seeds around.

• Pilea cadierei the aluminium plant is another nice species that exhibits blister variegation - caused not by a pigment but by an air space between the layers of leaf tissue which bounces light back up to make a silvery effect. There are few to no cultivars of this species. This species is native to China and Vietnam. Also known as the watermelon Pilea. Other ‘watermelon’ houseplants are Peperomia argyreia and Pellionia repens.

• Pilea hitchcockii is often sold as P. ‘Dark Mystery’ - I have seen it for sale at Grow Tropicals and N1 Garden Centre in the UK - the leaves are almost fernlike but very dark and mysterious. I haven’t grown this one but I would love to give it a try though.

---

THIS WEEK’S SPONSOR

COZY EARTH

This week’s show is supported by Cozy Earth, the premium bedding company that helps you get the deep restorative sleep you need. Bedtime is literally my favourite time of day, so it’s really important that my bed is the most comfortable place it can be. I got to try out a set of Cozy Earth sheets and they really are so comfortable! Cozy Earth’s high quality bedding is responsibly sourced and made from soft and sustainable viscose that comes from bamboo fabrics. Bundle up in Cozy Earth pajamas made from ultra-soft viscose from bamboo this holiday season. Now available in holiday hues! Want to give the gift of a good night's rest with Cozy Earth? On The Ledge listeners can take up Cozy Earth’s exclusive offer today - get 40% off site wide at cozyearth.com using code LEDGE now.

---

---

HOW TO SUPPORT ON THE LEDGE

Contributions from On The Ledge listeners help to pay for all the things that have made the show possible over the last few years: equipment, travel expenses, editing, admin support and transcription.

Want to make a one-off donation? You can do that through my ko-fi.com page, or via Paypal.

Want to make a regular donation? Join the On The Ledge community on Patreon! Whether you can only spare a dollar or a pound, or want to make a bigger commitment, there’s something for you: see all the tiers and sign up for Patreon here.

• The Crazy Plant Person tier just gives you a warm fuzzy feeling of supporting the show you love.

• The Ledge End tier gives you access to two extra episodes a month, known as An Extra Leaf, as well as ad-free versions of the main podcast on weeks where there’s a paid advertising spot, and access to occasional patron-only Zoom sessions.

• My Superfan tier earns you a personal greeting from me in the mail including a limited edition postcard, as well as ad-free episodes.

If you like the idea of supporting On The Ledge on a regular basis but don't know what Patreon's all about, check out the FAQ here: if you still have questions, leave a comment or email me - ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. If you're already supporting others via Patreon, just click here to set up your rewards!

If you prefer to support the show in other ways, please do go and rate and review On The Ledge on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen. It's lovely to read your kind comments, and it really helps new listeners to find the show. You can also tweet or post about the show on social media - use #OnTheLedgePodcast so I’ll pick up on it!

CREDITS

This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, The Road We Use To Travel When We Were Kids by Komiku and Sundown by Josh Woodward. The ad music is Holiday Gift by Kai Engel.