Aspidistra (Aspidistra eliator)
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Aspidistra eliator
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
It wasn’t the biggest aspidistra in the world, but it had been growing well in the dining room for several years. Aspidistra has the reputation of being impossible to kill. This summer, that reputation was wrecked, as the hot weather killed it off, assisted by my lack of attention. It had almost reached the point of no return several times in recent years, but this time, it was curtains. Nothing I could do would revive it. I have left the sad remains in the pot. It may surprise me yet, but I’m not overly optimistic.
The cast iron or bar room plant originates in southern Japan, growing in dense shade under trees. The leaves emerge from ground level and the flowers, which appear in summer, are found at ground level, too.
By 2008, ninety-three species of aspidistra had been identified. Among them are plants whose leaves emerge chocolate brown in colour and then turn green, and others with speckled markings.
It was greatly prized by the Victorians as a symbol of middle-class affluence. It was a plant that could withstand limited sunlight and the poor conditions imposed by open coal fires.
The clip of Gracie Fields singing 'The biggest aspidistra in the world' was recorded in 1977 when she was seventy-nine years old. She died two years later.
The beautiful green aspidistra does well here in Melbourne, usually outside and always in the shade. I hope yours survives.
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know!
DeleteGracious! I've never heard of that plant but it was fun listening to Gracie Fields.
ReplyDeleteShe retained her Lancashire accent her whole life.
DeleteI've seen them but never had one myself.
ReplyDeleteThey're not the most exciting of plants, I must say.
DeleteEven if your aspidistra has met its end, its history and resilience make it a plant with quite a remarkable story
ReplyDeleteSome people have kept their aspidistras going and growing for decades.
DeleteI remember Gracie Fields well. We used to listen to her a lot in my family growing-up years. Sounds like a very hardy plant!
ReplyDeleteShe had a very clear, pure singing voice.
DeleteThat sounds like something I should get. I'm horrible with plants. I manage to keep them alive for awhile and then things go wron
ReplyDeleteIt was the unusual heat that killed mine off, I think, as well as the lack of water! 😳
DeleteI had my line worked out as soon as I saw the heading Aspidistra. Alas you mentioned it in your first line.
ReplyDeleteI think we had an aspidistra in the 1980s but I can't remember what happened to it. Cast iron plant you say, so not castor oil plant?
May your aspidistra recover and thrive.
Castor oil plant is different, and its beans are the source of the poison, ricin.
DeleteI bet it was a beauty when it was in its prime. I don't think I've ever even seen this plant. Years ago I did have a few house plants that didn't Bloom that they just had huge green leaves and I think they make a nice addition.
ReplyDeleteI like house plants - so do the cats, so I have to make sure they're not toxic!
DeleteI don't think I've ever had an aspidistra. I have two giant rubber plants out on my balcony though, which I put out there in the spring, because they had grown too tall for my windows. They obviously loved spending summer outdoors and have now grown even bigger, so how I'm going to handle that now, I have no idea! (No place for them indoors, so I guess I'll just have to take cuttings and start over, which I've managed to do before...)
ReplyDeleteI loved that clip of Gracie Fields - so elegant and funny and the happy way she twirled away from the piano - so endearing. We have an aspidistra upstairs. I repotted it in the early summertime. We have had it thirty years or more and it still looks healthy - even though I sometimes forget to water it.
ReplyDeleteI think I wrote that already I have a plant (I don't know the name) since 1969 when I picked her out of a bin. Ever since it has made 3 moves, and is still standing and now here it even started to grow ! Soon I have to cut the top off, because it has become 1.60 m or a bit more and I never changed the earth !! A miracle.
ReplyDeleteSometimes houseplants that have previously been healthy just curl up and die for no good reason don't they........mind you I've think I've seen a few off prematurely out of neglect over the years!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Sorry for your loss- lovely image-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI've also killed plants known as indestructible. Yours might still come back. I have a ZZ plant I killed and I have kept it hoping it would come back. Maybe that will happen for both of us.
ReplyDeleteI have lost a number of house plants moving from one house to another. The funny thing? I set a number of plant pots with those dying plants outside, intending to dump the dirt into the raised beds.and almost without exception, the plants revived are are doing very well. I am afraid to bring them in!
ReplyDelete