Anthurium radicans

Anthurium radicans in its Brazilian forest habitat

Anthurium radicans is native to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Bahia, Brazil. It grows in humid forest, including rocky sites, and follows the rooting surface on a creeping stem. Nodes can root where they meet loose organic material.

How to care for Anthurium radicans

• Pot and creeping stem: Choose a wide, shallow pot or tray. Lay the creeping stem on the surface and pin unrooted nodes lightly against the mix when needed.
• Substrate and moisture: Use fine bark and coco fibre opened with pumice or perlite. Keep the mix lightly moist and let the surface around the stem regain air.
• Light: Provide bright filtered light and protect soft new foliage from intense sun.
• Watering the rooting area: Water the full rooting area as the stem extends across the pot.
• Propagation: Separate a section only after it has a healthy node, its own roots and an active growth point.

Problems and changes to watch for in Anthurium radicans

• A section of stem turns dark and soft: This often follows deep burial or persistently wet conditions. Cut back to firm tissue, place the healthy section on fresh open mix and keep the surface lightly moist.
• New leaves look smoother than older ones: Texture develops as the blade hardens. Wait until the leaf is fully mature before treating this as a decline.
• Brown margins appear across several nodes: Uneven drying or fertiliser salts are possible causes. Rehydrate all rooted sections evenly and flush the pot.
• Fine pale specks collect between the ridges: Inspect the textured surface and leaf undersides for mites. If you confirm them, move the plant away from others and rinse both surfaces of hardened leaves. Apply a mite treatment labelled for houseplants to the textured surface and leaf undersides, then repeat it at the intervals stated on the label for the full course.

Anthurium radicans is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its leaves and stems contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which can irritate the mouth, throat, skin and eyes.
• Chewing may cause burning pain, drooling, swelling, vomiting or difficulty swallowing. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional after exposure, especially if swelling or breathing problems occur.

Anthurium radicans: where the name comes from

The genus name Anthurium combines Greek anthos, “flower”, and oura, “tail”, referring to the tail-like spadix. The epithet radicans means rooting or producing roots and refers to stems that can root at their nodes.

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott established the genus Anthurium in 1829 in Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Literatur, Theater und Mode, volume 3, page 828.

Karl Heinrich Emil Koch and Friedrich Adolph Haage first described Anthurium radicans in 1855 in Index Seminum of the Berlin Botanic Garden, volume 1854, issue appendix, page 10.