Dischidia platyphylla

Philippine coastal habitat and shell leaves

Dischidia platyphylla is found only in the Philippines, especially in low-lying coastal areas. It grows on trees such as coconut palms and on dead trunks around mangroves.

Its shell-like leaves lie close to the support, sheltering roots and forming small spaces that ants can also use in the wild.

Care for Dischidia platyphylla in pots and on supports

• Support: Cork, bark or a moss-covered board gives the stems a broad textured surface to grow across.
• Light: A bright filtered position suits this species.
• Watering on a support: If you grow the plant on bark or a board, wet the visible roots well, then let them lose some moisture while keeping good airflow around them. Check them often because exposed roots can dry quickly.
• Potting mix: If it is growing in a pot, choose a coarse blend that drains fast but still holds a little moisture.
• Warmth: Keep the plant warm with steady indoor temperatures.
• Humidity: Moderate to high humidity suits this species, but avoid a closed spot where damp air lingers around the plant.
• Feeding: A small amount of balanced fertiliser or orchid feed is enough while new stems are developing.
• Repotting and support care: Change compacted potting mix when drainage slows. On a support, gently remove old moss or bark that is crumbling around the roots.
• Training: Guide flexible new growth back across the support so later leaves can settle against it.

Problems with Dischidia platyphylla

• Leaves lose firmness and the support feels dry: Roots on the support have dried too much. Wet them thoroughly, let excess water drain and check them sooner next time.
• Roots or stem bases become dark and soft: The roots have stayed too wet with too little air. Remove rotted tissue back to firm healthy growth with a clean disinfected tool, discard the affected tissue, then repot in fresh airy mix or attach the healthy part of the plant to a clean support.
• Leaves develop pale or dry patches: The light is too strong. Move the plant into bright filtered light and keep it out of hot direct sun.

Keep Dischidia platyphylla away from children and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its effects after chewing or swallowing are unclear, and plant material can still cause an upset stomach.
• Contact a veterinarian or medical professional if symptoms develop or do not settle.

The meaning and history of Dischidia platyphylla

Dischidia combines Greek dis, meaning twice, with schizein, meaning to split, referring to the divided lobes of the staminal corona. The epithet platyphylla combines Greek platys, meaning broad, with phyllon, meaning leaf.

Robert Brown established the genus Dischidia in 1810 in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae, page 461.

Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter first described Dischidia platyphylla in 1906 in Philippine Journal of Science, volume 1, issue supplement, page 300.