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Species library › Maranta › Maranta cristata
Other Well documented

Maranta cristata

Maranta cristata Nees & Mart. (1823) is a small ground-cover prayer plant of Brazil's Atlantic Forest, recorded from Ceara south to Sao Paulo and inland to the Distrito Federal, mostly below 400 m. It is a shade-loving forest-floor herb of humid, evenly warm forest, and one of the easiest Maranta to keep once humidity is adequate. GBIF treats Maranta bicolor Ker Gawl. as a synonym.

Maranta cristata
Photo: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Terrestrial herb of the shaded floor and edges of humid Atlantic Forest, restinga woodland and forest remnants around Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and southern Bahia; also naturalised in Bermuda and southern China.

0 to 800 m recorded, median about 200 m (77 records).

BahiaEspirito SantoRio de JaneiroSao PauloMinas GeraisPernambucoAlagoasSergipeBrazil NortheastBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-Central

🔒 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 CC0 licence, unmodified.