Peperomia pereskiifolia

English name: Radiator plant

Latin name: Peperomia pereskiifolia

Family: Pepper - Piperaceae

Origin: Central and South America

The radiator plant is found in such countries as Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. It grows naturally in forests and shrubland, a short perennial with a stout, red-brown stem. The leaves are elliptical in shape with pointed tips, clustering in whorls, usually of three to six. The inflorescence is oblong, with very inconspicuous flowers. They grow at the ends of shoots in spikes that resemble cords, and are reminiscent of a mouse’s tail. In warm countries this peperomia is cultivated as a garden plant; in climates like Poland’s it may be grown only in greenhouses or at home as an indoor plant.