Bucephalandra Velvet

Care at a glance

Overview

Attach the rhizome to hardscape and leave it exposed, as burying it causes melt. Velvet is named for its soft velvety-textured leaves, which start light brown-red and mature to a deep brownish-green. It is undemanding in low light without CO2, but strong flow, added CO2, and steady parameters bring out the richest color and reduce leaf melt after planting.

In the wild

'Velvet' is a Bucephalandra trade form from the shaded, fast-flowing streams of Borneo, where the genus grows attached to rock as a rheophyte. In nature these plants form dense mats over stones kept wet by splashing current.

Good to know

Velvet is a horticultural selection rather than a described species, so it carries a trade name instead of a scientific epithet. Bucephalandra belongs to the arum family (Araceae), and every described member of the genus is endemic to Borneo.

Did you know

Bucephalandra reproduces so slowly and stays so localized in Borneo's streams that many trade forms like Velvet are named after a single collection site, and much of the plant in the hobby now comes from tissue culture rather than wild harvest.

Related plants

• 

  Bucephalandra motleyana

  Bucephalandra motleyana

  Low lightEpiphyte3.9 in (10 cm)
• Bucephalandra Apple Leaf

  Bucephalandra sp. 'Apple Leaf'

  Low lightEpiphyte3.9 in (10 cm)
• Bucephalandra Godzilla

  Bucephalandra sp. 'Godzilla'

  Medium lightEpiphyte3.9 in (10 cm)
• Bucephalandra Red

  Bucephalandra sp. 'Red'

  Low lightEpiphyte3.9 in (10 cm)
• Bucephalandra Sintang

  Bucephalandra sp. 'Sintang'

  Low lightEpiphyte3.9 in (10 cm)
• Bucephalandra Theia

  Bucephalandra sp. 'Theia'

  Low lightEpiphyte3.9 in (10 cm)