Guest posing with a tall dragon tree in the courtyard at Stem & Vine, Baltimore

The plant atlas · Region 01

Plants of Africa

Cradle of humanity, storied home of the Garden of Eden, and the origin of some of the best loved plants in your living room.

The continent

Far more than a desert postcard

The popular imagination keeps painting Africa as one long stretch of sand. Its plant map tells a much greener story.

Chances are a few plants you already love started life on the second largest continent on Earth. Africa is also the second most populous continent, after Asia in both cases, and the one with the youngest population. The ground those plants come from covers a lot of map:

A huge landmass of more than 11.5 million square miles, bounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and split almost evenly in half by the Equator
Eight major physical regions: the Sahara, the Sahel, the Ethiopian Highlands, the savanna, the Swahili Coast, the rain forest, the African Great Lakes, and Southern Africa
The only continent that spans the mild temperate zones of both the northern and the southern hemisphere

So there’s no single African landscape. The continent holds ecosystems of immense diversity, sandy deserts to lush rain forests, each supporting its own fauna and flora, and that range is exactly why we shelve our plants by where they began. A plant that adapted to the fearsome heat and extreme dryness of the Sahara asks for very different care than one that thrives in the humid rain forests of central Africa, with their rich and often endemic animal life.

Shopper holding a broad leaf houseplant at a Stem & Vine plant market in Baltimore

Silhouette map of Africa, the home continent of many Stem & Vine houseplants

Musician playing guitar beside a bird of paradise plant in the Stem & Vine courtyard in Baltimore

That bird of paradise beside the mic in our courtyard? A South African native.

Worth repeating

Three fun plant facts about Africa

Roots 80 feet deep

Saharan plants survive on root systems that plunge as far as 80 feet underground. In the southern Libyan Desert, though, no greenery exists for more than 120 miles, because vegetation simply can’t take root.

90 percent still unknown

Humans have so far managed to identify only 10 percent of the plants growing in the African rain forest.

The Cape Floral region

Covering less than 0.5 percent of the continent, Southern Africa’s Cape Floral region hosts almost 20 percent of Africa’s plant species, one of the most bountiful plant areas on the globe.

Meet the plants

Popular plants from the African continent

Three plants you’ve seen a hundred times, all of them African from the root up.

Flowering plants and shoppers at a Stem & Vine outdoor market in Baltimore

Snake Plant

Sansevieria trifasciata · Arid West Africa, Nigeria to the Congo · Easy care

This low maintenance, nearly indestructible looker, striking for its rigid, often striped leaves resembling a raised sword, is the sine qua non of every barber shop, student apartment, and corner store. Used to harsh conditions in its natural habitat, it survives almost any lighting situation, needs little water, and asks for no extra humidity. Give it a little love, medium light, and a drink every two weeks or so, checking the soil first to avoid root rot, and it’ll thrive and make even a beginner look like a plant tsar. The snake plant, also known as the rather unfortunate mother in law’s tongue, Saint George’s sword, and viper’s bowstring hemp, earned that last name because bowstrings were once made from its tough fibers.

Did you know? The snake plant is one of the few plants that use a special form of photosynthesis, called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, that lets it release oxygen at night. A great companion for your nightstand.

Fiddle Leaf Fig

Ficus lyrata · Lowland rain forests of western Africa · Intermediate care

If you keep your eye on the times, you know this plant: a 2016 article in the New York Times named the opulent, tree like West African native the It plant of the decade, especially in the design world. It’s easy to see why. It grows to imposing heights, and its pretty leaves, shaped with a bit of imagination like a violin, inspired the likes of Federico García Lorca to poetry. As is often true of a certain kind of beauty, this one asks for a specific maintenance plan. Give your fiddle leaf fig what it needs, enough water, proper drainage, direct but soft light, some humidity, and a quiet spot away from drafts, and it’ll flourish. If not, you’ll know: leaves drop or brown dramatically, and a milky sap appears at places of injury.

Did you know? In the wild, fiddle leaf figs often begin life as epiphytes, sprouting from a seed dropped on the top branches of another tree, amid ample sunlight. As the seed germinates, the roots grow downward, often strangling the host tree.

Dragon Tree

Dracaena marginata · Madagascar · Easy care

Spiky, its red rimmed leaves seemingly standing at attention, the dragon tree makes a bold focal point in any room, and you don’t have to be a master botanist to care for it. This island beauty enjoys moderate temperatures and most light conditions short of full shade, and it doesn’t hold a grudge if you forget to water it once in a while. Some consider it an air purifier, too.

Did you know? The dragon tree is part of the asparagus family. And while your pets, especially your cats, may love this plant, it doesn’t love them back. The leaves are toxic to animals, so keep your dragon out of reach.

More African plants for your home

ZZ Plant

Zamioculcas zamiifolia · East Africa, Kenya south to South Africa · Easy care

The ZZ plant, also known as the Zanzibar gem or the eternity plant, earned its place in offices with its ability to tolerate low light and long gaps between waterings. Thick underground rhizomes store water, and those low maintenance requirements come straight from home, a seasonally dry stretch of East Africa. Let the soil dry out before you water again, and it stays glossy and easy to care for.

Did you know? ZZ is shorthand for Zamioculcas zamiifolia. Even a single leaflet pressed into soil can root and grow into a new plant, given a few patient months.

Spider Plant

Chlorophytum comosum · Tropical and southern Africa · Easy care

Arching green leaves striped with cream, and small plantlets dangling from long stems, make the spider plant a friendly first plant. It grows best in bright indirect light and tolerates a shadier shelf, and it asks for water once the top of the soil has dried. Brown leaf tips are a sign to check how dry the soil gets between drinks.

Did you know? The plantlets are called spiderettes, and they root where they touch soil or water, so one spider plant can turn into several.

Areca Palm

Dypsis lutescens · Madagascar · Intermediate care

Feathery, arching fronds have made the areca palm a favorite among indoor plants, and in the wild it grows on Madagascar, the same island as the dragon tree. As an indoor plant it wants bright indirect light, steady moisture, and a warm room, and it sulks in cold drafts.

Did you know? Dypsis lutescens goes by several names, including golden cane palm and butterfly palm.

Every one of these plants crossed an ocean to reach your living room.
The least you can do is learn where it started.

Keep exploring

From the atlas to your windowsill

The African shelf is only the first stop in the atlas.

Follow the trail on to the plants of Asia, the plants of the Americas, and the plants of Australia, or start at the beginning with the full plant care guide. And when it’s time to pick one out for yourself, the shop on Charles Street is in downtown Baltimore. Buying for someone else? Gift cards work on plants too.

Asia The Americas Australia Plant care guide

Hand painted mural and greenery in the courtyard at Stem & Vine in downtown Baltimore

Get in touch

That dragon tree in the courtyard is taller in person

Come stand next to it, then wander the African shelf and ask us anything. If you're planning a gathering, we'll show you the spaces while you're here.

Prefer to leave a voicemail? (410) 429-7095