Guests beneath hanging plants inside Stem & Vine on Charles Street in Baltimore

The plant atlas · Region 02

Plants of Asia

From the Mother of Gardens to the jungles of Borneo, the largest continent on Earth raised some of the most familiar plants in your home.

The continent

Vast, varied, and very well planted

Botanists have nicknamed China the Mother of Gardens, and many familiar trees and flowers, from peaches to peonies, likely originated in its northern reaches.

The nickname holds for more than the great diversity of species. China’s hugely distinct landscapes mean plants from there tend to adapt well to climates across the globe, which is part of why so many of them ended up in our homes. Asia has human history to match. The first humans appeared in Africa, but settled communities with agriculture, which is roughly what the word civilization means, arose in several parts of the globe, and three of the earliest grew here: Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yellow River Valley of China. The scale of the place is hard to overstate:

The largest and most populous continent, covering about 30 percent of the globe’s land area and bounded by the Arctic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
Five major physical regions: mountain systems; plateaus; plains, steppes, and deserts; freshwater environments; and saltwater environments
Western borders still disputed, mapped by most geographers along a rugged line from the Ural to the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas

All that variation follows the plants home. A hardy steppe grass, a humidity craving epiphyte from the jungle, and a dainty flowering species that likes even temperatures, rich soil, and an undisturbed spot will each ask you for something different, and knowing which one is sitting in your window is most of good plant care. The rest is context, cultural, historical, scientific, and context is what turns a pretty plant into a story you get to live with.

Trailing vines hanging above a workshop table at Stem & Vine in Baltimore

Silhouette map of Asia, origin of hoyas, pileas and many Stem & Vine houseplants

Chinese money plants and trailing greenery in terracotta pots on the shelves at Stem & Vine, Baltimore

The Chinese money plants on our terracotta shelves trace back to Yunnan province.

Worth repeating

Three fun plant facts about Asia

Lake Baikal

Southern Russia’s Lake Baikal is both the deepest lake in the world, at 5,315 feet, and the oldest, at 25 million years. Its age and isolation give scientists unique evolutionary insights through endemic species found nowhere else.

The Empty Quarter

The Rub’ al-Khali desert, spanning Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, is considered inhospitable to humans, yet it still supports a few unique shrub communities.

The Sundarbans

The immense mangrove forest of India and Bangladesh filters pollutants from the water and stores two to four times more carbon than comparable stretches of mature rain forest.

Meet the plants

Popular plants from the continent of Asia

From Southeast Asian treetops to the rain forest floors of Borneo, three houseplants with deep Asian roots.

Pothos vines trailing over the garden cart inside Stem & Vine, Baltimore

Wax Plant

Hoya carnosa · Southeast Asia and Australia · Easy care

The climbing Hoya carnosa, carnosa meaning fleshy, is one of hundreds of species of hoya known for their thick, waxy, otherwise rather unassuming foliage. Everything changes when they begin to flower: the sweetly scented, soft pink starburst clusters look as though they’ve been carved from marzipan. As a tropical plant it enjoys light, which many people forget, and humidity, but it forgives a bit of neglect as long as you never let it sit in water. Proper drainage is key. Its heart leafed cousin gets a full write up in our hoya kerrii care guide.

Did you know? Though Hoya carnosa grows naturally across the region, it’s also a highly cultivated plant, with hundreds of cultivars created over the past two hundred years. Cultivars are varieties bred for desirable characteristics, such as color.

Ficus Audrey

Ficus benghalensis · India and Pakistan · Intermediate care

This beautiful member of the fig family makes similar demands on its caretakers as its African sister plant, the fiddle leaf fig, though it’s definitely less fastidious. It enjoys large amounts of indirect light, evenly moist soil most of the time, and a bit of humidity. Its leaves are covered in fine hairs that give them an almost velvety texture, which also means they collect dust. Wipe them down every now and then to help with photosynthesis, and keep the whole plant away from drafty spots.

Did you know? The ficus Audrey is the national tree of India and considered sacred. In the wild, thanks to a growing strategy in which its roots suppress other roots, the tree can reach a hundred feet tall and several acres wide, so a single specimen can form a forest’s worth of canopy.

Black Velvet Alocasia

Alocasia reginula · Borneo · Intermediate care

Dark green leaves so deep they read almost black, each pointed blade pulled through with elegant silver veins: the black velvet alocasia earns its dramatic name. Calling its maintenance difficult would be unfair, but this native of Southeast Asia’s rain forest floors does have particular requirements. Reginula, after all, means little queen. She wants humidity and, above all, adequate drainage. Leave this plant baby soggy and its striking, stiff foliage will brown, curl, and die. One word of caution: the leaves and tuber roots are highly toxic, so keep them away from little hands and mouths.

Did you know? Alocasias can grow quickly under the right conditions, but individual leaves don’t live long. Seeing one last only a few months is normal, ideally replaced by vibrant new growth.

The Mother of Gardens raised half the plants on your shelf.
Now you know where to send the thank you note.

Keep exploring

From the atlas to your windowsill

One region down, three to go, and each one grows differently.

Cross over to the plants of Africa, the plants of the Americas, and the plants of Australia, or read the whole route in the plant care guide. The in-person version is at the shop on Charles Street in downtown Baltimore.

Africa The Americas Australia Plant care guide

Plants hanging above the Botany Bar at Stem & Vine in downtown Baltimore

Get in touch

A little of Yunnan lives on our terracotta shelves

Ask where the money plants began, or bring us a question about the one you already own. If a party is taking shape, ask to see the rooms.

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