#FOMO: Five Unique Houseplants
#FOMO a.k.a. “Fear of Missing Out” is something growers and garden centers didn’t expect to see a few years ago with the Instagram-fueled rise of houseplants. Some old favorites, like snake plant, are enjoying a comeback, but there is also a push to find the photogenic weird and wonderful. Here are five unique houseplants you probably haven’t seen.
Staghorn Fern
Platycerium is a genus of about 19 fern species. They are known as staghorn or elkhorn ferns due to their unique fronds. Native to tropical and temperate regions, these ferns are epiphytic, meaning they live on trees. In botanic gardens, they are usually strapped to boards and then attached to trees until they take to the tree themselves. Mimicking this, many people grow them indoors as wall-hanging specimens.
Haworthia Cooperi
Clearly these plants are unique. They’re clear! Growing in clumps of tiny, fleshy rosettes, this group of haworthia are soft, squishy version of their more popular cousins. With some varieties, the entire leaf tip is transparent. In their natural habitat, the sun is very bright, and the plant grows mostly buried by sand with only these transparent tips above the ground to funnel light down to the green chloroplasts. It’s basically plant sunglasses. 😎
Euphorbia Obesa
These are a ball to grow. Literally! However, in the wild, it is endangered because of over-collection and poaching, because of its slow-growth, and the fact that each pod only contains 2-3 seeds. However, it is widely cultivated in botanical gardens and growers are starting to cultivate them in larger quantities.
u/sleeptightazazzer, Reddit
Crassula Umbella
As u/voticella stated on Reddit, “Where the bleep do I find a crassula umbella? … Is this even a real species or is it internet hysteria?” Well … to quote Elaine Benes, “They’re real and they’re spectacular.”
There are about 200 species of crassula. They’re one of the most popular genus of succulent. However, crassula umbella species are pretty rare. At this point, specimens mostly exist only in private collections and are priced accordingly i.e. both arms and legs.
Zedo, Ethnobotany Forum
Spiral Grass
Trachyandra tortilis is a bulbous plant known for its very unusual and ornamental twisting leaves. Native to a small region of Namibia and South Africa, it is a hardy and drought-tolerant plant. Unlike the relatively unobtainable umbella above, spiral grass can be started from seed which is readily available for sale online.
When it comes to houseplants, there are tons of species to explore. I’m currently setting in my office writing this surrounded by at least 20 species of plants! Some people pick just one type, like succulents, to explore. While others, like myself, will try to grow (and often kill) anything at least once. Dive into houseplants and start your search for the weird and wonderful.