Native to Madagascar

[QuioteCham]

Hi All,
Ive been looking into new plants. I already have a few pothos which look great, but are not as sturdy. Ive had problems in the past where my girls munch the heck out of hibiscus, but no other plant lol. I really want to add some plants native to Madagascar into the free range ive been setting up. Does anyone have any natives?

 

[liangyu]

Yeah!~.that's cool.

 

[james L]

There are a few palms that are fairly common here in FL that you could try. Areca Palms, triangle plams and teddy bear palms. They are all from madagascar and all belong to the same genus(cant remember name). Arecas are very easy to grow and do well as a house plant, they grow in clumps. Triangle and teddys are a bit harder to find but a super neat looking. Also there is a small pitcher plant(nepenthes) that is native to madagascar thats easy to grow, its sometimes for sale on ebay. One of my favorite plant genus is found mainly on madagascar, pachypodium. Its very spiney and needs care like a cactus, but its worth looking up, very surreal.

 

[Carlton]

Ah, if you are into Pachypodiums you need to know about this succulent plant dealer Out of Africa. They recently moved their nursery to FL and sometimes sell on ebay. Very nice responsible folks. Also, check out The Great Petaluma Desert nursery website. Wonderful unusual plants and excellent staff.

Pachypodiums are fantastic! I have several species; some domestically grown and some imported. I wouldn't risk them in a cham setup...much too wet to take a chance with a pricey plant.

Many of Madagascar's native plants are protected as they are endemic to the island, genetically isolated, and trade is regulated. It seems that most plants dealers are interested in are the succulents, Euphorbias, and spiney forest species...none of which will work in a cham setup. Many have toxic or irritant sap too.

 

[Carlton]

I meant to suggest Ficus alli. It is great for cham setups as it is sturdier than the classic Ficus benjamina and I've found it a bit more tolerant of the wet and lower light in a cage. They have longer tougher narrower leaves than benjamina, more like a Eucalyptus tree. Look for them in larger houseplant nurseries. They get large, but you can easily prune them...and your cham will love a larger habitat anyway. I had a bushy 8 foot one in a melleri free range. It filled part of a room and was a fantastic habitat. It should have been pricey to buy, but I think the nursery I found it at mislabeled it!

 

[nightcrawler]

I believe that the seeds that I bought from hobby lobby are pachypodium. They were marked as Madagascar palms, and after a year old, and 4 inchs, looks a little like that.

 

[james L]

Madagascar palm is the common name for pachypodium lamerii. A very cool plant.

 

[Carlton]

Sounds right. P. lamerei is a hardy pachycaul that is often used as a grafting base for more tempermental Pachypodiums. If you live in a warm climate and your seeds do well, you'll end up with a spiny thick-trunked tree in your yard! But, that will take many many years.

 

[QuioteCham]

wow, these all sound so! I really try them. Im based in southern CA. Are any of these easy to find out where im from?