Plant Species: Christia vespertilionis 

Plant Genus: Christia 

Plant Family: Fabaceae 

Plant Origin: Cambodia, China Southeast, Hainan, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Thailand, Vietnam  

Introduced into: Assam, Bangladesh, Cayman Is., Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Fiji, India, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Trinidad-Tobago, West Himalaya, Windward Is. 

The native range of this species is China & Tropical Asia. It is a perennial plant that primarily grows in the wet tropical biome. 

Soil Drainage: with high water retention, we recommend a mix of substrate composed of organic substrate, perlite, vermiculite, and sphagnum moss. 

Note: It is recommended that the substrate be permanently moist but not excessive to avoid root necrosis. 

Fertilizers: Christia vespertilionis is a low-maintenance plant. However, for the proper development of the plant, we recommend using a bio fertilizer (we use the BioBizz brand for the plants we cultivate) from the beginning of March to the end of November. 

Air Humidity: For proper plant development, a high level of humidity in the air is required, at least 70%, even higher than her sister - Christia obcordata. 

Temperature: 18-29 degrees Celsius 

Light: plenty of indirect light. 

Plant height including pot: 20/35cm  

Pot diameter: 8x8cm 

As its sister - Christia obcordata - also Christia vespertilionis is one of the truly rare plants in Europe, mainly because the transport duration from the areas of origin is too long for the plant's survival. 

Despite its rarity, the species is an "Instagram darling," especially due to its spectacular appearance, characterised by stems from which branches full of leaves resembling butterfly wings, burgundy with dark burgundy stripes, emerge. Furthermore, the leaves behave similarly to the movement of butterfly wings, lowering at night and rising during the day to absorb light energy more efficiently. 

In addition to the color differences between the two species, Christia vespertilionis is also notable for the texture of its leaves, which is similar to that of very, very fine sandpaper. 

It is a plant that grows in the humid tropical biomes of Asia, thus it will not survive under the normal indoor conditions of our homes and apartments. We recommend growing it in an Ikea-type cabinet or under a glass dome / in a closed terrarium. 

Since it tends to grow rapidly once acclimated, we recommend mounting thin wooden/plastic sticks (such as chopsticks) to which you can tie the stem and branches for additional support. 

Good luck with your plant care! And don’t forget to give us updates about your plant, using the hashtag #greenmirrors and tagging @green.mirrors in your Instagram posts! We promise to share them in our stories. 

Tags: Christia, Christia vespertilionis, rare plants, unusual plants, decorative foliage plants, trailing plants, purifying plants, indoor decorative plants, terrarium plants