If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Fittonia albivenis

(Lindl. ex Veitch) Brummitt

Acanthaceae

+ Synonyms

Adelaster albivenis Lindl. ex Veitch

Fittonia argyroneura Coem.

Fittonia verschaffeltii (Lem.) Van Houtte

Gymnostachyum argyroneurum (Coem.) J.Verschaff.

Gymnostachyum verschaffeltii Lem.

Common Name:

Fittonia albivenis
The dense leaf growth makes an excellent ground cover.
Photograph by: David Stang
Creative Commons License
Fittonia albivenis Fittonia albivenis Fittonia albivenis

General Information

Fittonia albivenis is an evergreen, perennial plant forming a low-growng, dense mat of growth about 8cm tall[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. A very attractive plant, valued especially for its dense growth habit and colourful patterning of the leaves - it is often grown in the tropical garden, especially as a ground cover in shady positions, and is also grown as a house plant, often in hanging baskets[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

S. America - northern Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela.

Habitat

Dense forest at elevations up to 800 metres[
521
Title
Useful Plants of the Siona and Secoya Indians of Eastern Ecuador.
Publication
Fieldiana Botany New Series No. 15
Author
Vickers W.T.; Plowman T.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; USA.
Year
1984
ISBN
0015 - 0746
Description
Very terse, but it gives the uses of a large number of species. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Perennial
Height0.08 m
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details


Succeeds in partial to dense shade[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
710
Title
Tropical Flowering Plants. A Guide to Identification and Cultivation.
Publication
 
Author
Llamas K.A.
Publisher
Timber Press; Oregon.
Year
2003
ISBN
0-88192-585-3
Description
A terse guide for the gardener to almost 1,500 species of ornamental tropical plants with brief details on their cultivation and, usually, a small photograph of good quality.
]. Grows best in a fertile, moist but well-drained soil[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
710
Title
Tropical Flowering Plants. A Guide to Identification and Cultivation.
Publication
 
Author
Llamas K.A.
Publisher
Timber Press; Oregon.
Year
2003
ISBN
0-88192-585-3
Description
A terse guide for the gardener to almost 1,500 species of ornamental tropical plants with brief details on their cultivation and, usually, a small photograph of good quality.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of the whole, crushed plant is taken internally, or applied topically, as a remedy for headache and muscular pain[
521
Title
Useful Plants of the Siona and Secoya Indians of Eastern Ecuador.
Publication
Fieldiana Botany New Series No. 15
Author
Vickers W.T.; Plowman T.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; USA.
Year
1984
ISBN
0015 - 0746
Description
Very terse, but it gives the uses of a large number of species. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant has a dense, mat-forming habit of growth and does well as a ground cover in shady positions[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Division.
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Fittonia+albivenis>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.