A purple-coloured succulent ornamental

Published on: Sunday, April 18, 2021

By: Eskay Ong

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GROWING purple-coloured plants is not a big deal in as far as city gardening is concerned, or for that matter, cultivation in any urban or rural location. But it is a big deal indeed when it comes to growing a purple herbaceous plant that is concurrently an ideal succulent ornamental and a herbal health plant all rolled into one.

There aren’t many plants in their natural habitat that can be said to be absolutely poison or toxin-free vis-à-vis animal life, especially in relation to four-leggeds as well as the two-leggeds.

On the other side of the coin, all plants, no matter how toxic they may be, are actually harmless as they hardly move from their allotted space under the sun to poke at anyone.

Only when there is intrusion into their space especially by two-leggeds such as chicken and duck, and humans too, will there be a toxic response, that is, if the plant being trampled on happens to be highly toxic.

When there is mutual respect, tolerance and acceptance will there be peace and stability. It is all hail to right-thinking, progressive and considerate people in Sabah that so much effort has been exercised in the conservation and preservation of the state’s wildlife and natural vegetation assets.

In nature, all plants have varying levels of toxicity in their saps which may cause varying degrees of reaction, ranging from mild itchiness to swelling as a result of splashed plant saps, or penetration of thick hides by plant trichomes, and so on, with serious cases requiring medical attention and even hospitalisation.

Fortunately, only a very limited number of plants have very powerful saps and countless tiny but mighty trichomes. Moreover, only a very few people are susceptible with virtually zero cases of goners.

This means a vast majority of plant lovers are actually having a swell time enjoying the best time of their life in a close relationship with their plants, with daily doses of ogling, trimming, shaping and training, mollycoddling and manuring.

However, there is a truly purple-coloured juicy and herbaceous plant that is not only a lovely ornamental to grow, but also one whose sap can be consumed, literally speaking. This variety of ornamental is known as Rhoeo discolor, which belongs to the family Commelinaceae.

The botanic name is also laden with a load of tongue-twisting synonyms which interest no one but academics, although at the same time, it lends an air of sophistication to the wannabes, also-rans and has-beens.

Rhoeo discolor carries a number of common names such as Oyster Plant, Boat Lily, Cradle Lily, etc, and these are much appreciated by most gardening enthusiasts especially when jotting down notes or during intellectual discussions with like-minded folks.

Anyone who has planted oyster plants should be able to vouch for the ease and simplicity of the plant as an ornamental. Irrespective of whether the location is in the urban city centre, the rural kampungs, or even in mobile gardens or simply in pots somewhere up a high-rise, the succulent can be at home comfortably feeding and growing while waxing fat and bulky.

The oyster plant is perfect too when cultivated in hanging gardens in locations where space is very tight. This represents a real boon to plant lovers who stay within compact confines of flatted dwellings or condos.

As oyster plants are highly adaptable in the habit of growth and very undemanding in their wants, the plant has found widespread cultivation in many homes, gardens, urban cityscapes, and so on.

Originating in Central America which has a climate that is not much different from ours here, the oyster plant finds no problem in fitting itself into any situation, be it a humid, dimly-lit corner, or one that is fully exposed to the sun.

Purple – a distinctive colour in oyster plants

Those who are in the thick of gardening can agree that nothing is as truly purplish as the oyster plant.

Why not? Just take a look at the foliage. The undersides of the leaves are fully covered in a deep, rich purple, which is what is most often seen of oyster plants, except for the few that are striped or variegated.

The upper surface is green in colour, which means that a side view would yield a complete stretch of purple. This is true since the leaves of the oyster plant are near erect-growing, and however much they droop, they still tend to form a tightly compact rosette, which is why only the purple is seen most of the time.

In terms of the quality of the purple colour, there aren’t many plants that have a purple that is capable of beating the oyster plant, with perhaps, Gynura aurantica and several others that have a purple that is just as rich.

There are many other plants with comparatively rich purple that are often used with striking effect on garden layouts to create a stunning combination of eye-catchers.

Use of oyster plants in the outdoors

The cultivation of colourful, succulent and juicy little oyster plants always results in ample rewards.

Firstly, the plant provides a colour that is both outstanding and attractive, which is a true asset when it comes to colouring or painting up the garden. Secondly, once the plant is set on the ground or in pots, very little else is required to keep it going in shapely form. Thirdly, the plant self-propagates abundantly in an amazingly rapid rate so that there is no need to worry about replanting or sourcing of new replacement stocks. Fourthly, the plant is used by a great number of people to provide a health-giving tonic.

In this respect, herbalist sinsehs can testify to the effect that oyster plants are wonderful plants to help boost human health. The health benefits can be extracted by harvesting young leaves where they are cleaned and chopped up into 10cm sections and then boiled in an earthernware pot.

Boiling may take several hours but sinsehs advise that the leaves should not be boiled into a soft, pulpy mass.

The resulting concoction is then sieved and the brew sweetened by the addition of a little rock sugar. Seen through clear glass, the brew is purplish in colour. It may be drunk chilled, iced, luke-warm, or even scalding-hot in straight form but without mixing with knock-out tipples.

It is believed that the brew concocted in this manner is good for cleansing the body of excessive waste products as well as preventing the body from over-heating. For this reason, there exists a great number of faithful followers of this age-old formula who regularly take to such a drink to keep in good shape.

Cultivating the oyster plant

Oyster plants are easy to propagate and grow. These are great incentives indeed as it is often these factors that pull in a lot of plant or gardening enthusiasts.

Just separate the rooted young suckers at the base of the mature plants to get them growing, and soon there will be plenty of colourful plants and jars of home-brewed herbal drink.

Alternatively, the lower portions of mature stems may also be cut up and rooted to produce new plants. Usually such stem cuttings carry a lot of roots which enable the rooting process to be even easier.

These stems are capable of growing to remarkably great lengths, often reaching a metre or more. Unfortunately, at such lengths, the plant tends to fall to the ground and begin scrambling in a very untidy manner as it is incapable of supporting itself to great heights.

Newly planted young suckers do not flower as early as those sections taken from mature plants. But once the plant starts to flower, each lower leaf will produce a long stalk holding bract-like structures that house the tiny white flowers. As the bracts are shaped like boats, the plant is therefore commonly known as Boat Lily.

Oyster plants are quite adaptable and are able to grow under various kinds of light, water or soil situations. But generally, a fertile, well-drained sandy loam is best for their cultivation.

Clayey, water-logged and perpetually wet soils are not good for the plant, as it is quite susceptible to rotting. Most genuine topsoils are suitable for cultivating the oyster plant, irrespective of whether it is grown on the round or in pots.

The important points to note are good drainage and high fertility. Where there is some degree of shading, there is a tendency for the colour to be more richly expressed. The foliage may also become a little firmer, crispier and more erect in form.

Overly shaded plants may become dull and less attractive, and as such, it is necessary to strike a balance between over and underexposure of the plant. However, it is remarkable that the plant may continue to grow uninterrupted whatever the lighting condition, provided it is not perpetually dark.

After that, there will be plenty of goodies in the pipeline in terms of generous quantities of foliage and flowers, and there will be an unending series of windfall after windfall after windfall…