Anthurium andraeanum

Anthurium andraeanum, the Flamingo Flower, is the species behind the vast majority of florist and houseplant Anthuriums sold worldwide. In its native Colombian and Ecuadorian rainforests it grows as an epiphyte or terrestrial understory plant, producing broad, glossy, heart-shaped leaves and its signature waxy spathe inflorescence in wild forms of red or green. Over a century of breeding has produced hundreds of named flowering cultivars in colours from white through pink, orange, and near-black ('Red Hot' and 'Sweetheart' among them), selected for spathe colour, shape, and flowering reliability rather than foliage traits. Unlike the velvet-leaf Anthurium species prized by specialist collectors for their foliage, andraeanum and its cultivars are grown primarily for their long-lasting, near-continuous blooms and easy-going nature, making this one of the most accessible and widely available Anthuriums on the market.

Native range

Colombia and Ecuador (humid tropical rainforest understory, often growing epiphytically)

Classification

Genus

Anthurium

Family

Araceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Compact, upright rosette

Morphology

Leaf shape

Broad, heart-shaped (cordateHeart-shaped foliage, featuring a rounded notch (sinus) where the leaf stem attaches.)

Leaf length

15-25 cm

Leaf width

10-18 cm

Petiole colour

Green, upright

Venation

PinnateVeins or lobes arranged like a feather, branching out symmetrically on both sides of a single main central vein., subtle

Texture

Glossy, waxy

Variegation

N/A: solid green foliage; named cultivars are selected for spathe (flower) colour, not leaf variegation

Growth habit

Compact upright rosette