Family: Marantaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Maranta leuconeura, commonly known as prayer plant or ten-commandments, is a low-growing tropical perennial native to central and eastern Brazil. It is prized for its striking ornamental foliage, featuring oval leaves with colorful patterns of dark green, light green, red, and cream markings. The plant gets its common name “prayer plant” from the way its leaves fold upward at night. Typically grown as a houseplant or shaded groundcover in tropical gardens, it thrives in warm, humid environments with indirect light. Prayer plant is widely cultivated for indoor decoration, hanging baskets, container plantings, and lush understory landscaping.

Risks & Threats
Prayer plant is generally considered a low-risk species and is not known to be invasive in Hawai‘i or other tropical regions where it is cultivated. It spreads slowly by rhizomes and usually remains confined to garden settings. While it may occasionally persist in moist, shaded areas, there is little evidence that it forms dense infestations or displaces native vegetation. As with many tropical ornamentals, responsible planting and disposal of garden waste are recommended to prevent unintended spread into natural areas.

High Risk Traits:

• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Reported as an emerging weed in South Africa, but no impacts described
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Geophyte
  
• Reproduces by seeds and vegetatively
  
• Self-compatible
  
• Seeds dispersed by ants and intentionally by people
  
• Able to resprout after cutting

Low Risk Traits:

• No reports of invasiveness or naturalization
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
  
• Non-toxic
  
• Ornamental
  
• Limited seed production in cultivation