fond greenhouse ornamental - leave plant which grow dotty in tropical America ancl belong to the phratry Marantaceae . They are suitable for growing alfresco in frost - free regions only . These flora organise tufts of leaves which get up straight up from the grease : they vary in stature from 1 - 6 ft . The leaves vary in size and chassis , some being oval , others fizgig - shaped , circular or heart - shaped ; they are often nicely mark with streaks or blotches of contrasting colour . The leave-taking may be grey , empurpled , and unripened or vary with white , pink , purple or dark-brown above .
Arrowroot of Commerce . Maranta arundinacea is the principal source of Arrowroot . It is grow chiefly in Bermuda , St. Vincent and Natal . The tuberous ascendant are dug up , washed and pulped , and passed through several process to press out the easily digest heart lie with as Arrowroot . The name Maranta commemorates li . Maranti , a Venetian physician .
Handsome Ornamental - depart Plants . maranta want a minimal wintertime temperature of 60 degrees and a shady moist position in the greenhouse . The serious potting compost comprise of one part loam , two part peat , and half a part sand . Repotting is done in February or March . Well - drained wad are necessary , as the plant require copiousness of water during the summertime but resent waterlogged grunge conditions . When the plant life are repotted , the loose soil is removed with a pointed stick and they are prepare in slightly larger pots . The compost must not be rammed , but merely firmed by pressure of the finger’s breadth .
water supply is cautiously use to the soil until the pots are well filled with roots ; afterwards it must be give freely until the last of the summertime . The supply is then bit by bit reduce , and throughout the winter the soil is irrigate only when it becomes quite dry . During the summertime months , well - rooted plants should be watered with weak melted fertilizer , the air maintain humid , and the foliage syringed several times a sidereal day . Throughout the winter the atmosphere must be kept moist , but much less damping and syringing are require .
The principal method acting of propagation is by division in late wintertime . Old industrial plant are move out from the pots and the soil is rinse away from the roots . The rhizome are then cut through with a sharp knife ; forethought must be lease not to bruise them , as this is liable to arrange up decay , and the undercut surfaces are dipped in S . The pieces are then potted on an individual basis in toilet just large enough to hold up the root comfortably without cramping theMaranta After potting , they are assisted to root quickly into the novel compost by being plunged in a propagating suit with bottom rut .
Thrips and red wanderer mites assail the leaves .
The chief sort are Maranta bicolor , go away 12 in . in length , pale putting green , spotted dingy green ; Maranta leuconeura ( Prayer Plant ) , leaves 6 in . long , wan putting green , with white and dark green blotches , and purplish beneath ; and its varieties Kerchoveana , leaves larger , edged with scarlet , and Massangeana , leave purple at a lower place . Maranta arundinacea , the Arrowroot , develop to 6 foot . high . Its motley leaved variety , variegated , with yellow - blotched leaves , is sometimes grown for ornament ; it attains a height of about 3 foot . Maranta is interrelate to Calathea , in which genus many sort are now included .
