Pilea peperomioides

Chinese money plant, Pancake plant, UFO plant, Coin plant, Friendship plant, Missionary plant

Pilea peperomioides grows wild in the shaded mountain forests of Yunnan and Sichuan in south-west China, where it clings to rocky slopes beneath a cool forest canopy. Its circular, peltate leaves — attached at the centre of the blade rather than the edge — give it an immediately recognisable silhouette. A fast grower that throws up offsets readily from the base, it is one of the easier plants to propagate and pass on. In an open terrarium it works well as a focal point, though its steadily spreading form means it will need thinning or replacing every year or so.