# Malagasy Plants?



## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Hi All,

I'll be constructing a 24''x18''x36'' viv soon, and am hoping to plant it entirely with plants from Madagascar. Temps will range from mid 80s (top) to low 70s (bottom), with humidity ranging from 60-80%. Any ideas/recommendations?


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## Stijn (Oct 26, 2009)

Hello,

there are several small Malagasy plants, at the moment I have Peperomia sp. Masoala, Begonia bogneri, Medinella sedifolia, Medinella sp. Andasibe, a small fern (probably Asplenium) from Andasibe, Plectranthus scaposus, Huperzia megastachya and Selaginella fissidantoides.

You must have a look at this site : www.ahartig.de - Regenwaldterrarium
Sadly for you only in German ...

Regards,

Stijn


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## qiksilver5 (Jan 9, 2007)

I had a list here somewhere, I just can't find it. Also I think Dane did a biotype tank at some point...
Aerangis
Sansevieria
Streptocarpus
Angraecum
Biophytum
Ceropegia
Are what I can think of from the top of my head. Also a lot of succulents and thorny plants.


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## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

You can use Yahooo babelfish for translation German to English.


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

I'm thinking someone needs to send the Peperomia sp. Masoala to the US, lucky Europeans


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Das ist sehr gut. Danke!


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

Pothos is native to madagascar. There are 4 different varieties that could be used to spice it up a little. Would really look sweet.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Hello, my name is Zach Brinks, and I've been pothos free for a year now.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

I keep hearing Pandanus mentioned in descriptions of Mantella aurantiaca habitat...they are thorny though...and grow quite large.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

joshsfrogs said:


> Pothos is native to madagascar. There are 4 different varieties that could be used to spice it up a little. Would really look sweet.





zBrinks said:


> Hello, my name is Zach Brinks, and I've been pothos free for a year now.


You know, ACTUAL Pothos might be found in Madagascar come to think of it. I have a feeling you 2 are talking about Epipremnum aureum?

From the little searching I did, it looks like there is at least 1 species of Pothos found in Madagascar, P. scandens. There are probably others...

A Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar @ efloras.org


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

Pothos scandens is a very cool plant but rare in cultivation and really didn't grow well for me. I finally lost my last bit this past winter. Pothos ovatus which is a shingler is really cool but near impossible to find in the US. Lost mine years ago.


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

Harry, did you take photos of the Pothos ovatus? a quick google search didn't find any.
P. scandens is pretty cool


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

I lost mine too. I think if I ever get it again, I'll grow it mounted.


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

Nate, I didn't but the juvenile form looked almost exactly like an all green R cryptantha or even a Dischdia. The internodes were very short. I got it from Malesiana back when they sold a large selection or Aroids. They no longer offer them.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

How about more readily available plants that look like their Malagasy counterparts?
I'd love to plant the vivarium with only plants from the island, but I'm ready to abandon that goal in favor of better meeting the inhabitants' needs.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Well if that's the case:

1) Aerangis--you choose;
2) Streptocarpus--you choose;

And why are we forgetting Stephanotis? I would mount this with decent light and ventilation.


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## Tim F (Jan 27, 2006)

Angraecum germinyanum! One of my personal, all-time favs, but you've got to make sure those roots get some air.


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## Pete Phillipson (Mar 17, 2010)

I am pleased to here that diverse interests in Malagasy plants have lead at least one of you to consult the Madagascar Catalogue (Tropicos) - as one of the people behind the project its good to have feedback and suggestions


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

Pete, whats your living collection like at mbg?


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

Pete, as a person that loves to see where things come from that is a great list which took a ton of work. Great job!

I never realized that so many Impatiens were native to Madagascar. I didn't see any that are easily available in the trade but I can say from experience that the common garden Impatiens (wallerana I think) does great in a terrarium. You just have to keep it trimmed. It also self seeds like crazy. A better subject may be I hians which should do great. It seems to flower best under cool conditions. I niamniamensis may also be worth a try.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Pete Phillipson said:


> I am pleased to here that diverse interests in Malagasy plants have lead at least one of you to consult the Madagascar Catalogue (Tropicos) - as one of the people behind the project its good to have feedback and suggestions


I was quite impressed with the website. Great work.


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

There's _Microgramma lycopodioides..._it was all over the trees in West Africa when I was there. It has a pretty wide distribution, including Madagascar, and would be a good cover on your treefern panels.


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

Nice picture. That particular Microgramma is not all that common in culture from what I can tell. There are a number that go by that name but don't seem to match the description. What is the other species on the tree?


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I would love to find that Microgramma sp., or any one with a similar growth habit. If anyone has any leads, let me know


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Hi Harry...from what I could tell, that was actually the same species/plant--the narrower leaves seemed to be the ones that carried the spores, while the more oblong leaves were the standard growth form. Below are a couple more pictures that might give you a better look (notice at the top of this first image there is a fern leaf with three lobes...I'm pretty sure that was from the same species as well--I wonder if different light exposure caused different growth types?). I tried seeing if they were all connected via the same stems, but couldn't verify whether they were or not (these tangles seemed to be a favorite haunt for some ants that packed a pretty nasty bite):


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

How big would you say the small leaves were? According to The Fern Growers Manual it should be about 2". But there could be a great bit of variability in a species this widespread. For a source for small ferns sign up for Charles Alford's list at www.rareferns.com. He sells a number of Microgramma from time to tome.


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

The small leaves were around 1-1.25" or so. Here's one last shot of the fern on another tree (although I didn't inspect too closely, it seemed as though even those larger leaves were part of the same plant):


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

From what I see described it may well be lycopodioides but those larger fronds in the last picture look too large. I haven't found the other species that are native to the same area. By the way, this plant looks nothing like what I have that I thought might be lycopodioides but from this bit of research I suspect it is not.


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## candm519 (Oct 15, 2006)

When I searched for images of Microgramma lycopodioides on bing.com, I found this photo from Black Jungle Photo Gallery, Terrarium Photos. 

Begonia 'BeBe' and Microgramma lycopodioides

Might they still have some hanging around?

(Bing is my latest favorite alternative to google; it seems to stay more focused on my search terms.)


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

That one fits the description of M squamulosa better than lycopodioides. The rhizome scales are supposed to be brown on lycopodioides and these look to be whitish. Nice one regardless.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Mine is from Selby and looks the same as the BJ link...










Link to a pic of an herbarium specimen...

http://tropicos.org/Image/6397
http://tropicos.org/Image/100130982

Here's the page...
http://tropicos.org/Name/26602318

The image of the living plant looks different than this one I pictured here.


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

It's probably because it has many variations due to local. The book say brown scales. Are yours brown? Yours looks just like what I have as aff lycopodioides.


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

I've been doing a bit more research, and I'm wondering if perhaps what I found was _Microgramma owariensis _(I can't find an image of thise species to confirm, however). This info from ZipcodeZoo.com: 

"Stems long-creeping...0.5-1.5" diam., not whitish pruinose; leaves monomorphic or dimorphic, well seperated, not narrowed toward tip; fertile leaves often narrower and longer than sterile leaves. Blade simple, linear-elliptic to linear oblanceolate..."

Zach, I apologize if this has hijacked your thread!

***EDIT***

On the Kew website, it seems owariensis is a synonym of lycopodioides, which has a similar description:

"...widely creeping, with fronds spaces 1 cm or more apart and with subulate entire pale-brown rhizome scales...turning grey with age. Frond simple, stipitate, sometimes somewhat dimorphous, with the fertile fronds longer and narrower than the sterile fronds. Lamina...narrowly oblong to elliptic, entire, acute, obtuse or caudate, decurrent at the base..."


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Heard back from a professor at UC Berkeley today regarding the fern I posted above and figured I would share:



> Looking at the images again, and comparing them with specimens in UC (we have several from Liberia), and literature, I am convinced that the West African plants sometimes known as _Microgramma lycopodioides_ are distinct from Neotropical specimens of the same name. I would call the plants from Liberia, Cameroon, Sao Tome, etc., _Microgramma owariensis_ (Desv.) Alston, the type is from West Africa. This species is more dimorphic and thicker-textured than is _M. lycopodioides_. In fact, _M. owariensis_, in these respects, is more like the Mexican and Central American species known as _M. nitida_ (syn. M. palmeri) than it is _M. lycopodioides_. I prefer to keep _M. owariensis _as a separate species, for the time being.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

So this person hasn't looked at preserved or living specimens? Just images?


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## botanyboy03 (Apr 18, 2009)

WE had something similar to this growing on the bench at the nursery I was working at in Harlingen, TX( Lower Rio Grande Valley, zone 10) last year, but I didn't bring any of it with me, I should contact the manager and get him to send me some of it. It looked just like the ones pictured on the palm, which was first linked. The fertile fronds looked almost identical. 

Zac


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Frogtofall said:


> So this person hasn't looked at preserved or living specimens? Just images?


He looked at my images from Liberia and compared them with specimens he has at UC Berkely, as well as the associated literature on the species.


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