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Species library › Pilea › Pilea mollis
Terrarium Little published: much of this is inferred from related species

Pilea mollis

A soft-leaved Pilea from the mountains of northern Venezuela and Colombia, described by Weddell in 1856. It is best known in cultivation through the cultivar 'Moon Valley'. It is a forest-floor herb that wants shade, warmth and a constantly moist, humid setting.

Pilea mollis
Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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

The few records are from lower montane forest in the Venezuelan coastal range and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Like most Pilea, it is presumably a herb of shaded, damp forest floor.

Recorded at 850-1100 m, median 1060 m.

ColombiaVenezuela

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

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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 4.0 licence, unmodified.