Previous plant

Macleania insignis

Next plant

Photo from: The New York Botanical Garden.


More flowers and some leaves by Richard Ellis, Phytophiliac.tumblr.com.


Photo from Botanicalgarden.ubc.ca.

Author:  M.Martens & H.G. Galeotti, 1842
Family:  ERICACEAE
Origin:  Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama
Soil:  No, Epiphytic
Water:  Maximum
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  20 Centimetres
Height:  2 Metres
Flower:  Red
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  -
Synonyms:  Macleania coccinea, Decne.
Macleania colorata,
Klotzsch.
Macleania compacta,
A.C.Sm.
Macleania cordata,
Lem.
Macleania cordata
var. linearifolia, Donn.Sm..
Macleania insignis
var. linearifolia, Standl. & L.O.Williams.
Macleania linearifolia,
A.C.Sm.
Macleania longiflora,
Lindl.
Macleania ovata,
Klotzsch.
Macleania subracemosa,
L.O.Williams.
Macleania tenuiflora,
Klotzsch.
Macleania tenuifolia,
Walp.
Macleania tuberosa,
Nied.
Orthaea laurifolia,
Luteyn.
Thibaudia laurifolia,
M.Martens & Galeotti.

This member of the Ericaceae family was described by Martin Martens and Henri Guillaume Galeotti in 1842. It's found in the trees as a epiphyte in the cloud forests of southern Mexico to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Lots of water and some sun. The tube-like caudex will grow to 20 centimetres in diameter, the stems one to four meters. The flowers are pink, and seeds are the only way of reproducing.

The genera name after John Maclean, 19th century Scottish merchant who exported plants from Lima, Peru. The species name from Latin insignis, meaning 'remarkable' or  'out standing' for the flowers.