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Species library › Ctenanthe › Ctenanthe compressa
Other Partly documented

Ctenanthe compressa

A robust clump-forming prayer-plant relative of Brazil's Atlantic forest and the humid upland forest islands (brejos) of the northeast, with plain green, strongly asymmetric leaves on long petioles. It is one of the more widespread wild Ctenanthe, and grows as a terrestrial herb in forest shade.

Ctenanthe compressa
Photo: Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Terrestrial in the understory of Atlantic forest, gallery forest and humid hill forests of northeastern Brazil, typically on moist, humus-rich soil in shade. Inferred from its records and the genus; no species-specific habitat study was consulted.

Recorded from sea level to about 1030 m, median 275 m; several climate sites sit in 650–975 m upland forest islands in Pernambuco and Ceará.

Brazil NortheastBrazil SoutheastBrazil SouthVenezuelaBolivia

🔒 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 Public domain licence, unmodified.