This plant is perhaps my favorite to use in terrariums. It is not particularly showy, but it stays small and compact and is somewhat non-descript ‘green foliage’ that does not look to me, particularly new world, or old world. For that reason, I use it in most of my biotope inspired (biotope+whatever else looks good) vivariums. It is native to Eastern Ecuador and is an IUCN Threatened species. In my experience, it only reaches about 8″ tall and stays compact.
From the RED list “Known from three sites in the wild, but most of the collections, including the types, are from cultivated plants in Tena. One of the paratypes is from J. Brenner’s garden in the Hotel Turingia in Puyo. Not known to occur inside Ecuador’s protected areas network. Additional populations may occur in the cordillera de Cutucú and in forest remnants near Tena.” The flower is maroon and yellow. The maroon in the flower is nearly the same maroon as the leaf stems.
