Light
Medium indirect • approx. 5,000–10,000 lux
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Araceae
Bau metallica
- Curated selection:
Every plant is hand‑picked for health and visual appeal, so you receive a strong, well‑established plant.
- Representative photos:
Product images show a typical plant of this variety. Natural differences in leaf number, shape or variegation are normal, your plant will still match in type and quality.
- Size details:
Listed sizes refer to pot diameter (cm) and approximate overall height (cm) from the base of the pot to the tallest leaf or stem.
- “Get What You See” items:
If you are buying the exact plant shown in the photos, this is clearly stated in the size section.
- Individual photos:
One‑off photos are only provided when this is explicitly mentioned in the size section. - For special traits or small quirks, please check the full product description.
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Your new plant has just travelled a long way and needs a calm start in its new home. For step-by-step unboxing and first-week care, check our after-delivery care guide. For deeper tips on how your plant settles in over the next weeks, read our houseplant acclimatization guide.
- Care basics , Main hub with links to all houseplant care guides.
- After delivery & first week , Unpacking, first placement, and early recovery.
- Light, How much light houseplants really need indoors.
- Watering , When to water and how to avoid root rot.
- Substrates & roots, Potting mixes and drainage for strong root systems.
- Humidity, When humidity matters and what actually helps.
- Fertilizing, Simple feeding routine without burning roots.
- Problems & pests, Yellow leaves, brown tips, bugs, and fixes that work.
- Semi-hydro, How to run low-maintenance mineral substrates.
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Bau metallica
Quick Care Guide
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
Native to Borneo (West Kalimantan)
Outdoor growing
Indoor only
How to read these values
These care values are quick reference points for indoor growing. Use them as a guide, then adjust for pot size, substrate, temperature and how quickly the substrate dries.
For more detail, read the full product description or visit our Plant Care Guides.
- Light: level and approximate lux at leaf level.
- Watering: “% dry” shows how far the substrate should dry before watering again.
- Substrate: structure, drainage, moisture retention, base material and particle size.
- Temperature: “Ideal” shows the preferred range; “Avoid below” marks the cold-stress threshold.
- Humidity: target range; steady conditions usually matter more than exact numbers.
- Growth habit: how the plant grows, such as upright, climbing, trailing, clumping or rosette-forming.
- Support: whether a stake, pole or trellis is needed, optional or unnecessary.
- Growth speed: expected pace under suitable indoor conditions; use as a guide, not a promise.
- Max size indoors: realistic long-term indoor size under good conditions.
- Toxicity & safety: irritation, toxicity or physical hazards such as spines or bristles.
- Origin & habitat: native range, hybrid background or typical habitat where relevant.
- Outdoor growing: when a potted indoor plant can be placed outside and what outdoor protection it needs.
Bau metallica – dark metallic aroid with leaf-borne plantlets
Bau metallica is one of the darker foliage aroids in cultivation, but it is not flat black. Mature leaves are metallic dark bronze-maroon above and paler maroon below, with a finish that changes depending on angle and moisture. This species is also notable for producing adventitious plantlets from older or detached leaves, making it interesting not just as a foliage plant but as a genuinely unusual grower.
Why Bau metallica never looks flat
- Leaf colour: Metallic bronze-maroon rather than plain black.
- Leaf underside: Paler maroon below, which adds depth when foliage lifts or shifts.
- Texture: Petioles and major veins are minutely hairy.
- Propagation trait: Older or detached leaves can produce plantlets along the major veins.
Where Bau metallica comes from
Bau metallica is known with certainty from West Kalimantan, where it grows terrestrially in deep leaf litter in damp, shady, humid lowland forest on granite. Indoors it behaves like a warm-growing forest-floor species that wants steady moisture and very little root-zone drama.
How to keep Bau metallica stable indoors
- Light: Medium indirect light is ideal; avoid hard direct sun.
- Temperature: Best kept at 20–28 °C in stable warmth.
- Watering: Keep substrate evenly moist, but never heavy and stale.
- Humidity: High humidity helps preserve clean leaves and calmer growth.
- Substrate: Use a moisture-retentive but airy mix with fine to medium structure.
- Fertilizer: Feed lightly and regularly while growth is active.
When Bau metallica starts slipping
- Washed-out foliage: Usually a sign of too much light or root stress.
- Rotting roots: Dense, poorly aerated substrate is the main risk.
- Leaf marking: Constant wetness without airflow can damage finish and texture.
Why Bau metallica interests collectors
Bau metallica combines dark metallic foliage with an unusual way of making plantlets from leaf tissue. That second trait is rare enough to matter and makes this species far more than a simple dark-leaved novelty.
Buy Bau metallica
If you want a compact aroid with genuinely dark metallic foliage and one of the more unusual propagation traits in cultivated aroids, Bau metallica is an easy yes.
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.
FAQs about Schismatoglottis metallica
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