# Lipstick Plant?



## TheLorax (Sep 7, 2007)

Last year when we stayed at Biltmore for a few days, I got to talking to one of the horticulturists there and was given a behind the scenes tour. She gave me a cutting of Vanilla planifolia which has done well for me in by my Nepenthes. She also gave me another cutting which I thought she had stated was another orchid of some sort. She told me it was difficult to root but that I'd really like the plant. It rooted a few months ago and recently began shooting up new growth. I've never had a plant take darn near a year to root. 

I can't for the life of me recall the name of the gal who gave me the cuttings or I'd call over there and ask her what it was she gave me. They have quite a few horticulturists and foresters working there and many are women. I also went online to try to search for a Biltmore plant inventory to see if I could figure out what it was that way and came up empty handed.

I brought it with me when I visited goldenrose to see if she might know what it was. She thinks it might be a Lipstick Plant but didn't know the binomial. The only lipstick plants I am familiar with are basically tropical trees (Bixa spp.). I'm sure Lipstick Plant is a common name for quite a few plants. Is there a Lipstick Orchid out there? 

Does anyone know what this plant might be-


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## kentuckiense (Sep 7, 2007)

Maybe Aeschynanthus radicans?


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## Renegayde (Sep 7, 2007)

also known as Aeschynanthus lobbianus ? lipstick plant/vine is a fairly common plant sold at most mass retail outlets such as Lowes, Home Depot, ect ect


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## TheLorax (Sep 8, 2007)

Ah, another Lipstick Plant. I figured that common name applied to more than one species. Thanks for the binomial. I looked up the Aeschynanthus lobbianus. My leaves are opposite just like the A. lobbianus but they aren't like the leaves of a succulent. Mine are thin. There's no mottled leaf or variegated form of A. lobbianus that I can find. The leaves on my plant are very distinct. They aren't pubescent at all and neither are the stems. 

I hate having a plant that I don't know what it is. I'm going to have to put a name to this so I can check out a potting medium for it. It can hang out in the LFS for a while longer but sooner or later it will need to be transplanted.


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## goldenrose (Sep 8, 2007)

Lauren & I make quite the pair! We stand there looking at the same plant, she says the latin name, & I'm saying the common name! (At least I can say/pronounce them, latin I butcher oh too well!)


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## practicallyostensible (Sep 8, 2007)

It looks just like my deceased Aeschynanthus marmoratus.


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## TheLorax (Sep 9, 2007)

Ah ha! Thank you practicallyostensible! I have a name to my cutting. The Zebra Basket Vine. You hit it on the head based on what I'm finding. Way cool. 

I feel bad for you that your plant kicked the bucket. If mine continues to put out new growth, would you like a cutting of it to try again? I think you should try again. This cutting has been in LFS for about a year now and it has survived all kinds of neglect and abuse. You'd think with it being right behind my sink where I do dishes every day that I'd remember to keep it moist but I don't. If this can grow for me, you really might want to try it again. 

I found a little blurb on the plant which includes some nice photos of the bloom but it doesn't tell me what type of medium to use although I see the plant is a Gesneriad not an Orchid so I can probably come up with something. Here's the link- 
http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Aeschynanthus_marmoratus.htm

I can probably pick up some tips on how to grow it out here-
http://www.gesneriadsociety.org/

And yes goldenrose, maybe I will finally be able to learn some common names. I need a lot of help in that area. Everyone butchers Latin names. No sense losing any sleep over that. Case in point, how do you pronounce Acer as in a Maple tree? Pretty much everyone I know pronounces that ā sir. Guess what, it's supposed to be pronounced ā kir. I still pronounce it ā sir no matter how many times some friends correct me. ā sir or ā kir... we all know what we're referring to and if we don't, we ask the other person to spell it out and then we can get it. Latin sucks, it always did particularly when people (myself included) butcher it.


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## practicallyostensible (Sep 10, 2007)

If yours ever gets really going I'd love to take a cutting. Yay! How interesting about the pronunciation of Acer (that's my other large collection besides slippers) and I've been mis pronouncing it the whole time. Ah well, you learn something new everyday.


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## goldenrose (Sep 10, 2007)

The pronounciation of Acer just blows my mind!!! If I was ever determined to improve my Latin pronounciation,  what's the sense? I guess I'll just stick to trying to pronounce it as it's spelled!:arrr:


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## TheLorax (Sep 10, 2007)

You should hear some of the proper pronunciations of binomials. You'd be reduced to fits of giggles. 

I know how to pronounce Acer and I'm sticking to the pronunciation that I've been using. I'm sticking to a lot of my mispronunciations. So many people have been mispronouncing so many words for so long that to change mid stream would be laughable. 

I've done so more poking around on the cutting-

A. 'Red Herring'
http://rarevariegatedplants.com/Plant-photos/aeschynanthus.sp.red.herring.jpg

A. longicaulis ‘Black Pagoda’
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=175

Eesh, they're all starting to look alike to me. 

Yes, you're welcome to a cutting. It really is neat. You'll have to wait a little bit though. It took almost a year for what growth it has. It doesn't need to really get going, all it needs is to shoot out a third growth and I'll hack at it for you.


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## practicallyostensible (Sep 11, 2007)

Yea for cuttings! I know that I will probably never get all of the pronunciations correct... but I hate being corrected to every single time I go to a show. Oh well, better late then never. I'm with you though, I'm sticking with ā sir!


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## TheLorax (Sep 11, 2007)

There were three of these cuttings out there. I passed two cuttings on to friends to try to root. All three of us tried to get ID's on this plant and I think somebody came up with the genus at one time or another. Mine is the only one that rooted though. I got to thinking about this and my track record with indoor plants isn't the best. It ultimately rooted in an eastern window and it seems to be happy there. If you want the whole plant, you're welcome to it now. You can't do any worse than I have done in the past with house plants. This way I don't have to worry about a cat getting up on the counter and chewing on the plant before you get your cutting which would be just my luck with this slow grower and this way you can send me a cutting if you are able to get the plant to take off. There's another plus, you will now be the one who has to figure out what it is exactly. One more thing, you will be expected to try to pronounce it properly- ha ha ha! We'll all wait for you to post a wave file of your pronunciation. Let me know if you want the whole thing now.


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## practicallyostensible (Sep 11, 2007)

Good God, so much responsibility. You rooted the thing, you sure you don't want to give it a chance to see what it does? If not I'll be happy to take, it they seem to do well with me (right up until the time that I go on vacation and ask my ex to take care of the plants. Thank god I took the orchids to my folk's house.). You have any interest in rhizomatous begonias? I have more cuttings then I can handle.


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## TheLorax (Sep 11, 2007)

Nope, no interest is rhizomatous begonias but thanks for the generous offer. I'm in a dump phase right now. I'm getting rid of plants that I can't grow well in the conditions I can provide. I like the plant, but you seem to like it better and that will free up a little spot for something else down the road. Grow space is limited and aside from that, I just know a cat would get at that plant now that somebody wants a cutting from it. These cats get into everything and then they barf up green chunks all over my house that I have to clean up. 

Now don't be forgetting that wave file now ya hear!


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## practicallyostensible (Sep 11, 2007)

Cat barf equals gross. I'm so glad that I moved out of my last apartment (white carpets). You have a PM.


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