Prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura, É.Morren 1874)

Identity

The prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura É.Morren, 1874), also sold as maranta, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial in the genus Maranta, part of the arrowroot family, Marantaceae. Its common name describes a striking habit: every evening the leaves rise and press together like hands in prayer, then open out again in the morning. ^{1 2}

Most people meet this species as a houseplant with strongly graphic foliage. The oval leaves carry sharply drawn veins, silvery white or bright red depending on the variety, which make it one of the most recognizable and widely grown members of the Marantaceae. ^{3 4}

Recognition

Low and sprawling, Maranta leuconeura forms a clump that rarely tops 20–30 cm (8–12 in) and widens through a rhizome running just at the soil surface. The leaves are broad, oval, velvety and smooth-edged, roughly 10–12 cm (4–5 in) long, on short stalks. ^{4 5}

The giveaway is the pattern of the veins: silvery white or bright red lines radiating from the midrib across a dark green blade. The underside is often tinged gray-green to purple, which sharpens the contrast when the leaf stands up. ^{4 6}

A second clue is the nyctinastic movement: leaves lie flat by day and lift at dusk. This daily motion, easy to watch with the naked eye, sets the plant apart from an ordinary foliage plant at once. ^{2 4}

Useful taxonomy

Édouard Morren described the species as Maranta leuconeura in 1874. The genus name honors the Venetian botanist Bartolomeo Maranta. Several infraspecific and horticultural names still circulate, and all of them belong to this one species:

• Maranta leuconeura var. erythroneura G.S.Bunting
• Maranta leuconeura var. kerchoveana É.Morren
• Maranta leuconeura var. massangeana É.Morren
• Maranta massangeana (É.Morren) hort.
• Maranta kerchoveana É.Morren

The stable reference is the accepted scientific name, Maranta leuconeura, because tags such as erythroneura or kerchoveana refer to varieties and horticultural selections, not to separate species. ^{1 5}

Habitat and range

Home for Maranta leuconeura is the humid tropical forest of central and eastern Brazil. There it grows on the ground in the shaded understory, in cool, covered soil, out of direct sun. ^{1 4}

As a plant of the lowest layer, it carpets the ground as it spreads: the creeping stem roots at each node, letting it cover a small patch of leaf litter bit by bit. That groundcover strategy explains its dense habit in cultivation. ^{2 6}

Horticulture has carried the species far beyond its range, into pots and greenhouses in Florida, Europe and East Asia. Those areas of cultivation need to be kept distinct from the Brazilian range where it grows wild. ^{4 7}

Life cycle and reproduction

Indoors, flowering is sparse and uncommon. When it happens, in late spring or summer, the plant bears small white to mauve flowers on thin upright spikes. They are modest and beside the point, since the plant is grown for its leaves. ^{4 3}

Leaf movement sets the rhythm of the plant's day. It is controlled by a swelling at the base of the leaf stalk, the pulvinus, which changes its turgor with the cycle of light and dark. The leaves lift at night and return to horizontal by day, a cycle that depends on adequate light. ^{2 4}

Growers mostly propagate it by division at repotting, splitting the clump so each piece keeps roots and stems. Stem cuttings with a node also work, provided the cut is made below a node, where the roots will form. Kept warm, in soft water or moist mix, a cutting puts out its first roots in three to four weeks. Division remains the more reliable route, as it gives an already structured clump from the start. ^{7 6}

Uses and risks

Use of Maranta leuconeura is essentially ornamental: it is a houseplant valued for its colorful foliage and its nightly movement. In humid tropical climates it can serve as a shade groundcover; where winters are cool or frosty, it is grown in pots as a low clump. ^{5 7}

On the safety side, it has a rare advantage: the ASPCA lists the prayer plant as non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses. No signs of poisoning are described, which makes it one of the safest popular foliage plants for a home with pets or young children. The real challenge is cultural: dry air or hard water quickly browns the leaf edges. ^{8 4}

Varieties, look-alikes and related plants

None of the forms on the market is a separate species. var. erythroneura has bright red veins on a dark ground; var. kerchoveana has brown, chevron-like blotches on green; var. leuconeura has silvery white veins. The trade name Massangeana covers a dark form with silver veins. Before buying, check the variety name, the state of the roots and how even the foliage looks. ³

The most frequent mix-ups involve other Marantaceae:

• Goeppertia (formerly Calathea), with patterned leaves and the same nightly movement;
• Ctenanthe, with longer, often variegated leaves;
• Stromanthe, with distinctly purple undersides.

A low, spreading habit, radiating veins and the daily leaf movement remain the surest signs that a plant sold as maranta really is Maranta leuconeura. ^{4 1}

Main sources

• Plants of the World Online / Kew, Maranta leuconeura É.Morren
• Royal Horticultural Society, Maranta leuconeura var. erythroneura
• Royal Horticultural Society, Maranta leuconeura var. kerchoveana
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Maranta leuconeura
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, prayer plant
• Plants For A Future, Maranta leuconeura
• ASPCA, prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura) non-toxic entry
• University of Florida IFAS, Maranta leuconeura culture guide