Hypoestes phyllostachya

Hypoestes phyllostachya is a low, bushy evergreen from Madagascar, grown for its dark green leaves speckled with pink — the pattern behind its common name, polka dot plant. Herbarium collections place it across much of the island, from dry forest and limestone outcrops in the west and south-west to forest edges in the humid north and east, from near sea level to about 1,100 m. Garden references often say it also comes from southern Africa and South-East Asia, but that is the range of the genus as a whole; this species is native only to Madagascar, and the name H. sanguinolenta, found in some older references, is now treated as a synonym. Its opposite, oval leaves are 2.5–7.5 cm long and softly downy, with spots that show pink above and cream to white beneath. Seed strains such as the Confetti and Splash series swap the pink for red, white or rose, and some reverse the pattern to pink leaves flecked with green; the Confetti series also stays smaller, at about 20 cm. It grows fast to 30–60 cm and turns leggy with age, so in a terrarium it needs regular pinching to stay bushy, and Wisconsin's extension service notes that houseplants eventually need replacing — easily done from cuttings. It is a short-day plant: a 1991 Virginia Tech study found it flowers sooner as the days shorten, and indoors it usually sends up spikes of small, tubular pink to lilac flowers in late summer or autumn. NC State notes that removing them keeps the plant's energy in its leaves. It does best in bright, filtered light, humidity above about 50% and 15–26 °C, in soil that stays evenly moist: the spots fade and the stems stretch in dim light, strong direct sun crinkles the leaves, and it wilts quickly when it dries out, which makes a closed terrarium an easy fit. ASPCA lists it as non-toxic to cats and dogs.