Hypoestes phyllostachya

Native to Madagascar, it is an evergreen subshrub grown chiefly for its spotted foliage. Cultivars have leaves marked with pink, red or white, ranging from small speckles to broad patches. Small, two-lipped tubular flowers appear in spikes at the ends of the stems. The plant is cultivated as a houseplant and in terrariums or bottle gardens. It has escaped gardens and naturalized in eastern Australia and Hawaii. In parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, it is an environmental weed that can form dense carpets beneath native vegetation. Photographed in Armenia, Colombia.