''Fittonia albivenis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Acanthaceae,

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the rainforests of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Brazil. An

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, it is notable for its dark green foliage with strongly contrasting white or red veins. It is commonly called nerve plant or mosaic plant. In

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions where the temperature falls below it must be grown as a houseplant.

Description

''Fittonia albivenis'' is a creeping evergreen perennial growing to high, with lush green,

ovate Ovate may refer to: *Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...

leaves, 7 to 10 cm long, with accented veins of white to deep pink and a short fuzz covering its stems. Small buds may appear after time where the stem splits into leaves. There are also forms in which the nervatura is carmine-red. Flowers are small with a white to off-white color.

Cultivation

The species is used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

that requires fertile soils or substrates based on

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. It is best kept in a moist area with mild sunlight, although it does not demand much light, and temperatures above . As such, in temperate locations it must be kept under glass as a houseplant. It must be watered regularly. Without water for a few days, it is known to "faint" but is easily revived with a quick watering and resumes its healthiness. ''Fittonia albivenis'' is known to be hard to grow, so it is best bought at a nursery then cared for. Its spreading habit makes it ideal as

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

. Numerous

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

have been selected, of which the Argyroneura Group and the Verschaffeltii Group have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Uses

The Kofan, Siona and

Secoya The Secoya (also known as Angotero, Encabellado, Huajoya, Piojé, Siekopai) are an indigenous peoples living in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon. They speak the Secoya language Pai Coca, which is part of the Western Tucanoan language group. In E ...

tribes of the

Ecuadorian Amazon The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

use ''F. albivenis'' as a treatment for headaches, and muscular pain, its leaves were used by the

Machiguenga The Machiguenga (also Matsigenka, Matsigenga) are an indigenous people who live in the high jungle, or''montaña'', area on the eastern slopes of the Andes and in the Amazon Basin jungle regions of southeastern Peru. Their population in 2020 amou ...

as a hallucinogen before they were introduced to ''

Psychotria viridis ''Psychotria viridis'', also known as ''chacruna'', ''chacrona'', or ''chaqruy'' in the Quechua languages, is a perennial, shrubby flowering plant in the coffee family Rubiaceae. It is a close relative of '' Psychotria carthagenensis'' (a.k.a. ' ...

''. They are said to "produce visions of eyeballs." The leaves of this species are prepared as a tea in the northwestern part of the Amazon region and used for toothache.

References

External links

Fittonia albivenis (Verschaffeltii Group)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q144956 Acanthaceae Medicinal plants of South America House plants Flora of Ecuador Flora of Colombia Flora of Peru Flora of Bolivia Flora of Brazil Ornamental plants Low light plants

Description

Cultivation

Uses

See also

References

External links