Light
Medium indirect • approx. 5,000–10,000 lux




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Bau metallica is built around dark metallic foliage rather than size, with mature leaves showing bronze-maroon tones above and paler maroon beneath instead of a flat black finish. Fine hairs on the petioles and main veins add another layer of texture, and older or detached leaves can produce adventitious plantlets, which makes this species unusual even by aroid standards.
It behaves like a warm forest-floor plant, so medium indirect light, stable warmth, and a moisture-retentive but well-aerated mix suit it better than either deep shade or harsh direct sun. Keep the substrate evenly moist without letting it turn dense and airless, and maintain higher humidity if you want the leaf finish to stay clean. For collectors, the combination of dark colour and leaf-borne plantlets is the real draw, not overall size.
Quick Care Guide
Light
Medium indirect • approx. 5,000–10,000 lux
Watering
Water when ~10–20% dry
Substrate
Moisture-retentive but aerated • Evenly moist • Organic-leaning • Fine-medium
Temperature
Ideal: 20–28 °C • Avoid below: 18 °C
Humidity
Humid 60–80 % +
Growth habit
Creeping rhizomatous herbaceous perennial.
Support
not needed
Growth speed
Average
Max size indoors
Max. height: 20 cm • Max. spread: 25 cm
Toxicity & safety
Toxic
Origin & habitat
Borneo (West Kalimantan); wet tropical habitat
These care values are practical reference points for indoor growing. Use them as a starting point, then adjust for your room, pot size, substrate, temperature and how quickly the plant dries.
For more context, read the full product description or visit our Plant Care Guides.
Do not leave outside below
18°C
This plant is best kept indoors and should not be treated as an outdoor plant in European climates.
Plant names, growth habits, natural habitats and indoor care guidance are checked against trusted botanical, habitat and horticultural references before publication.View our plant care resources and references.