How to Identify a Tropical Foliage Plant

Tropical foliage is often very large.

Tropical foliage comes in a wide variety of species, sizes and colors, thriving in regions such as Hawaii, southeast Asia, South America and other tropical environments. Many tropical foliage plants are very large, bright, beautiful and sometimes rare, like orchids. When trying to identify a tropical plant, it is key to focus on the characteristics of the flower, leaves and size. This will aid you in recognizing flowers in the wild or when putting together a bouquet.

Instructions

1. Touch and examine the leaves and stems of the foliage. From consistent rainfall and humidity, leaves and flowers on tropical plants grow in a range of thicknesses, sizes and colors, but usually always large. Some foliage has a leathery texture or large veins or oddly shaped edges. For example, the banana passion fruit plant has thick, leathery leaves that are dark green and shiny.

2. Examine the shape of tropical foliage and flowers, as they are usually large and wide. Some are shaped like birds (like the bird of paradise plant) or the heliconia (bright flowers shaped like crab claws).

3. Count the number of petals on the tropical foliage, as most tropical flowers have around five to six petals, such as the orchid or hibiscus. Tropical flowers can range from less than 1 inch wide to over 2 feet long in the deep jungle. The colors of tropical flowers are usually quite bright, bold and eye-catching.

   The range of colors includes cream, shades of green, deep or bright red, yellow, coral, hot pink, fuchsia, indigo, purple, blue and cream.

4. Examine the shape of the plant leaves. Tropical leaves are commonly banana-shaped, oval or round. The color can range from very light white-green to almost black green. It all depends on the variety, but tropical leaves are usually wide and large or skinny and very long.

References

• Trade Winds Fruit: Hawaiian Plants
• Aloha Hawaii: Flowers
• University of Wisconsin: Getting Started With Orchids