Is it possible that a plant could be distributed throughout the world without ever having been identified, at least botanically? In fact, this sort of thing does happen occasionally and one plant that is currently in that situation is a small pilea with creeping reddish stems and tiny round blue-green leaves. It seemed to come out of nowhere early in the 21st century and is now widely grown around the world, both as a houseplant and as an annual for outdoor containers, even a groundcover in outdoor gardens in the tropics, yet no one seems to know its botanical name.
You may know this plant as Silver Sparkles plant, gray artillery plant, gray baby tears or pilea ‘Aquamarine’. Also, you’ll often see it sold under what would appear to be a botanical name, Pilea glauca. However this name is what is called a nomen nudum in botany: a name that was never been published according to proper botanical procedures, that is in a scientific publication with a corresponding description. It would appear that a grower in Florida began selling this plant under the name Pilea glauca because of the glaucous color of its leaves and the horticultural community simply accepted the name without further verification. Sorry, but that is not how things are done in the world of botany!
You’ll also see this plant sold under the name P. glaucophylla (it means glaucous leaved) and if you do a bit of digging, you might at first think you’d found the correct name, as there is a true P. glaucophylla, a plant discovered in Colombia (although the information associated with the name P. glaucophylla claims, for some reason, that it comes from Vietnam). There’s just one catch: the true P. glaucophylla is an upright plant 20 inches (50 cm) tall and above with oblong leaves 5 to 6 inches (10-15 cm) long. Absolutely nothing like the small-leaved creeping pilea in question!
David Scherberich, a botanist at the Botanical Garden of Lyon, believes this plant to be P. libanensis, a species native to Mt. Libanon near Guantanamo, Cuba. Still, the name P. libanensis has not yet been confirmed for this plant. The plant currently being grown would have to be compared to a specimen in a recognized herbarium and that doesn’t seem to have been done.
So our little pilea, which I’ll call the gray artillery plant from here on, is still without a formal botanical name … but that needn’t stop you from growing it!
Easy to Grow
The gray artillery plant does best in medium light, though it can be acclimatized to full sun. Grow it in the potting or container soil of your choice. Water it well, making sure to moisten the entire root ball, then repeat when the soil is dry to the touch.
It doesn’t seem to need a lot of fertilizer. Just use your favorite kind at a reduced dose during its growing season, usually from March to September.
The gray artillery plant tolerates the dry air so typical in our homes in winter, but prefers much higher humidity, 50% if possible. 70% would be even better.
Since this plant comes from the tropics, it will grow best at warm to hot temperatures. One source suggests a minimum temperature of 55? F (12? C), but I suspect that has not actually been tested: most tropical plants can tolerate temperatures close to freezing for short periods.
This plant is a snap to multiply: just press a few sections of stem into a moist growing mix and they will soon take root.
Typically the gray artillery plant is grown in hanging baskets or in mixed containers, as it elegantly cascades down over the pot’s lip. Don’t hesitate to pinch back its creeping stems for a denser effect. It also makes a great groundcover for dish gardens and terrariums and is used in three-dimensional mosaics and green walls.
A Curious Habit
This plant, along with its even smaller-leaved cousin, P. microphylla, are “artillery plants.” When you water them, the stamens of their tiny flowers, which otherwise go unnoticed, suddenly burst open, throwing pollen into the air like fireworks. Try and you’ll see: it’s quite surprising!
There you go: a plant with no valid name and yet very real and even easily growable. Who knew!
My pilea glauca has lost almost all it’s leaves and is looking close to dead! I inherited it from someone moving back to Canada in January this year. It is in a window that gets bright early morning sun but then average light from about 11am onwards. Window is drafty as I live in a flat and there is a radiator wafting heat up from below Oct – March. Can I cut it back hard and will it regrow/recover do you think or has it had it? Your advice much appreciated:)!
Try cutting it back: that should stimulate growth from the base. And maybe you could tape a piece of cardboard along the windowsill edge as a bit of a barrier to keep hot, dry air from harming the new leaves.
Thanks very much for the advice, I’ll give it a go and hope for the best!
Where can I find this plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada? I do have a couple of varieties, but wanted to add to my collection. Thanks for all your wonderful information on this little exquisite unknowns!
I have pilea glauca and pilea-peperomioides.
There is really no good source of pileas in Canada, at least, not that I know of. You might want to try nurseries like Colasanti’s in Kingsville that imports bulk quantities of houseplants from the US and often has pileas mixed in. By mail, try Mason House Gardens (https://www.masonhousegardens.com): they often have a few pileas on their listing.
Thank you for the post! Love this plant!
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaapkamergeluk
The Dutch nick name for what I believe is the same plant you are talking about is ‘bedroom luck’. Of course everyone has one! They also seem to have a proper name for it.
Not quite the same plant. The Slaapkamergeluck is Soleirolia soleirolii, called baby’s tears in English. It has smaller green leaves and thinner stems. I wrote a bit about it here: https://laidbackgardener.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/some-like-it-wet/