Labisia sp. 'Snake Skin' / 'Dino' (Ardisia aff. obovatifolia)

• Origin: Kalimantan Utara (Borneo)
  
• Care: Easy / Medium / Advanced
• Suitable as a houseplant?: Yes / Limited / No
• Suitable locations: terrarium, plant display case
• Special features: Very slow growth, but very robust and quite insensitive.

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This tropical primrose (Primulaceae) has obovate and very bullate leaves. The leaf color varies from light green (in fresh leaves) to metallic black (in fully mature leaves and low light). The flowers are tiny and whitish to pink.

As with almost all tropical Primulaceae in cultivation, mainly Ardisia and Labisia , this beautiful species is also sold under several names. It is most often offered as Labisia 'Snake Skin', sometimes also as 'Dino'. However, it is probably not a Labisia but an Ardisia . Of the known Ardisia species , it is most closely related to Ardisia bullatifolia and Ardisia obovatifolia , although it differs quite significantly from them. It is therefore likely an undescribed species. It was first collected around 2015 and offered for sale soon afterward, and probably originates from North Kalimantan (Borneo).

Like most Ardisia species , it grows extremely slowly, but has surprisingly hard and robust leaves. Many Ardisia species popular as small terrarium plants in cultivation grow much larger than one might expect and are shrubs or even trees in their natural habitat, with mature leaves looking completely different from those of young plants. Whether this is also the case with 'Snake Skin', we cannot (yet) say. The leaves can certainly reach a size of over 15 cm, but even our largest plants show no significant height growth, which is why we currently assume that this species will not grow particularly large.

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You will receive a young plant with 2 to 4 leaves in a 5cm pot. Well-rooted but rather small plants should be repotted from sphagnum moss into a richer potting mix!