Peperomia graveolens

Ruby Glow

A small succulent peperomia from the dry inter-Andean valleys of southern Ecuador. It has thick red stems and folded leaves with a translucent V-shaped window on top and burgundy undersides, and its flowers smell strongly of mouse urine. It grows among rocks and dry scrub with cacti at around 1700–2400 m, so it wants bright light, a mild climate with cool nights, and a gritty mix that dries between waterings, not a humid terrarium.

Peperomia graveolens — Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry

Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Herbarium labels place it in the Río León valley between Cuenca and Loja: dry scrub with cacti, secondary xeric vegetation on sandy slopes and boulders, and steep rocks with debris dominated by Tillandsia medusa. It roots into thin mineral soil and rock pockets on these slopes, partly shaded by rocks and shrubs.

Specimens are labelled 1700–2400 m, most around 2000–2250 m.

Ecuador: Azuay (Río León valley, Oña, Girón)Ecuador: Loja (northern edge)

🔒 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

Grow Peperomia graveolens? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Peperomia

Peperomia caperata Peperomia clusiifolia Peperomia quadrifolia Peperomia deppeana Peperomia angustata Peperomia enervis Peperomia pellucida Peperomia aristeguietae Peperomia hunteriana Peperomia leptostachya Peperomia versicolor Peperomia duendensis All 1559 →

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 4.0 licence, unmodified.