Identification: Would like Red House Plant Identified (Photo to follow)

My mother has a red colored house plant I would like to identify. It appears to have no chlorophyll. Will try to attach two pictures. Jake. If file size is too small I can make it bigger. I am new to this "forums" culture so help would be appreciated. Jake from Ohio

 

There is chlorophyll in the dark parts of the leaves: pink + green = dark purple.

 

Thanks Michael F , I'll take your word that pink + green= dark purple. I really didn't think it could live without really having chlorophyll .

 

Looks like Iresine herbstii, Beefsteak Plant.

 

Thanks, Junglekeeper, I'll now search books and the Web for "Iresine herbstii", Beefsteak plant. I've been wondering just what it was for the past 3 years. In 12 hours on this site perhaps I've received the answer.

 

Page 50 of the Fifth Edition of "Tropica" by Alfred Byrd Graf shows that Junglekeepers'
'looks-like' is right on.

 

I just ran across this thread while doing some research. I thought I should do a bit of explanation regarding Graf and his books Exotica 3 and Tropica. Mr. Graf did a wonderful job of introducing collectors to a large number of tropical species. The major problem was Mr. Graf was a collector just like many of us. He was not trained as a botanist. As a result there are many errors with the identification of species in his texts. Just this morning I received this email from Dr. Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Tom is considered the world's leading expert on aroid species.

I believe that the name P. variifolium Schott that you are using is in fact based on the picture in Exotica 3 which is a total fabrication by some horticulturist that Graf picked and illustrated in his book. Schott's original description was of a Poeppig collection from Pompayacu and may be the same as some form of P. deltoideum. It is nearly 3 lobed, with spreading posterior lobe. So I think you can forget that name. Alternatively that very image in Exotica 3 is a spitting image of juvenile plants of P. brandtianum. The adult plants are rather large and have no variegation at all. I suspect that in pots or even on a totem it would never turn into the adult form, in the same way that P. hederaceum has remained juvenile in cultivation for centuries, owing to the lack of ideal conditions for becoming adult. It must climb about 10 m or so climb out onto branches, then becomes pendent for 3 or more meters then it flowers.

Over the years, as I research plants, I've found a very large number of "made-up" names in Exotica 3 as well as Tropica. The first thing I do when I am seeking information on any plant is to check with one of the nomenclature data bases such as TROPICOS, IPNI (International Plant Names Index) or the Kew's site in London. Many, many times I would find a name in Exotica 3 that never shows up on any of these scientific data bases!

I've corresponded with several growers who knew Mr. Graf personally. Regrettably he is no longer alive. Every one of them told me he would visit their nursery or collection and ask "what is that"? He would then take his photo and write down the name he was given. It appears many of those names were never checked against any data base to make sure they were a verified published scientific species.

I could easily name a bunch of plants that are in Exotica 3 that do not exist in taxonomy. My only reason for pointing this out is to encourage you to verify the names you find in TROPICOS or IPNI before you start using them publicly. Situations similar to the confusion described by Dr. Croat are quite common. It appears the publishers who regularly reprint Mr. Graf's work make no effort to correct the errors. I'm not certain if they are prevented from doing so by some contractual agreement or just don't take the time to do the work. The fact remains, many of the names Mr. Graf used are not known to science.

http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html

http://www.ipni.org/index.html