Calathea??

[Anne Kilmer]

Liz Day wrote:
> 
> > Does anyone know what type of larvae would feed off this plant?? Also, is it a
> > common house plant?? does anyone know the common name of it?
> > many thanks!!!
> 
> It is supposed to be a common house plant.  It is similar to Prayer Plant
> (the one whose leaves fold up at night).  In the _Marantaceae_.
> I don't know what the exact difference between Calathea and Maranta
> (prayer plant) is.
> 
> LD


We just call it Calathea here, where it is also used in landscaping and 
gets huge.  As a house plant, it passes for prayer plant ... I don't 
think anyone's particular about the application of common names. Buy it 
at Home Depot, and it's labeled Green Plant.  
I don't know anything that eats it. You have caterpillars on it? Hmmm.
In south Florida, it gets whipped about by the wind, but it doesn't seem 
even to be carved by leaf-cutter bees. As cast-iron as aspidistra. 
Anne Kilmer
South Florida