Pilea microphylla

artillery plant

A small, creeping or upright, succulent-stemmed annual or short-lived perennial with tiny leaves, native to Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean and tropical Central and South America. It grows in moist, disturbed places and on rocks and walls. The male flowers flick their pollen out explosively, which gives it its name. It seeds itself freely and is weedy or invasive in many tropical regions.

Pilea microphylla — Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Damp, often disturbed ground: rock crevices, walls, stream banks, forest edges, gardens and roadsides, usually in partial shade. Stems are fleshy and pale green; leaves are 1.5–6 mm long in unequal pairs.

Mostly lowland. Only four records carry an elevation (443–1,300 m).

ArkansasBahamasBelizeBoliviaCayman Is.ColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorFloridaFrench GuianaGeorgiaGuatemalaGuyanaHaiti

🔒 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 3.0 licence, unmodified.