Jardinerong Sunog (the Burnt Gardener)

About 12 years ago I was given a cutting of Dischidiopis ramosii  from the eastern coast of Luzon which thrived until its death in 2013, a casualty of the poor water quality that I (and the plants) had to endure (for more of that story, click here:  https://jardinerongsunog.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-deforestation-decimated-my-plant.html ).  At that time my D. ramosii, which was maintained in a rather shaded position,   grew fairly slowly, with rather large, boat-shaped leaves in green. The leaves and flowers remind one of Dischidiopsis parasitica , but the leaves were noticeably wider and relatively thicker. Additionally, it was a much slower growing plant than the D. parasitica that I maintained under similar conditions. When the plant died it would be three more years before I got the opportunity to keep one again.  My current plant is now being exposed to full sun where it grew much more sluggishly than the previous one. But I'm not complaining. Bein...

Dischidia is a genus of Asiatic epiphytes with twining or dangling habit, most of them being root climbers. All species have succulent leaves which help the plants overcome long periods of dryness. Three sections are included, differentiated by their floral structures, but mainly by their leaf morphologies: the nominate section, section Dischidia , comprise the normal, flat-leaved species; section Ascidiophora are those with the fruit- (some say pocket-) shaped  leaves that develop together with the normal ones; and section Conchophyllum have species with concave to flattened, shell-like leaves that clasp their hosts. Both sections Dischidia and Conchophyllum have one type of leaves, while those in section Ascidiophora are dimorphic. However, Tatyana Livschultz (2000) found out that sections Ascidiophora and Concophyllum are monophyletic, which means that they share a common ancestor. In the future, these two sections may comprise one genus that is independent of Dischidia . ...