The Chinese evergreen comes from South-East Asia, where you’ll find it modestly basking in the dappled light under large tropical trees. It spreads freely and can often be found covering large areas of ground.
The name aglaonema is derived from the Greek ‘Aglos’, meaning bright, and ‘nema’, meaning thread, because of those variegated patterns on her leaves. There are a huge number of different varieties with colours ranging from silver and grey to red and orange.
Introduced to the UK in the late 1800s, it’s become a very popular small indoor plant because it’s so low-maintenance. It requires very little light or watering, so is highly suited to to darker rooms or office desks.
Did you know?
In China, the Chinese evergreen is considered a lucky plant. We can’t promise it will bring you great fortune, but it’s worth a try.