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Species library › Aphelandra › Aphelandra acanthus
Other Partly documented

Aphelandra acanthus

An Andean Aphelandra shrub with spiny, holly-like leaves and colourful flower spikes, common in montane forest edges and secondary growth in Colombia and Ecuador at about 2,400–2,800 m. It wants cool, humid, evenly moist conditions all year with bright filtered light.

Aphelandra acanthus
Photo: Alejandro Bayer Tamayo from Armenia, Colombia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Montane cloud-forest edges, thickets and roadside secondary growth, inferred from the records and the genus.

Recorded at 750–3,332 m, median about 2,625 m.

ColombiaEcuadorPeru

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 2.0 licence, unmodified.