LilMiss gave me a plant (flower?) and we have NO idea what it is. Her teacher called it a butterfly plant.
The stems are long, thin, and pale green/almost whitish.
At the end of each stem are three dark green leaves with the stem running up the middle. The leaves are triangular shaped. During the day the leaves open, at night they close up. There was a small white flower growing in the middle, but it withered.
She told me we’re to water it just a bit every week.
What IS it?
My guess is the Brazilian Butterfly Plant Oxalis triangularis.
My guess is Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis, which is a perennial herb which is (or was in 2000) on the endangered species list (aka Colorado butterfly plant). I haven’t been able to locate a picture on the net, however.
Given that Gaura doesn’t have terminal, three-part, triangular leaves that close up at night, this would seem very unlikely. What’s the basis for the guess, besides the common name?
Apparently I was mistaken. Sorry.
That’s IT Colibri! Well, 99.9%. The leaves on mine are green.
Now to find out how to care for it…
I have one (exactly like the picture but the flower is a pale pale purple). It really loves sunlight. I had it in my front hall through the winter with my other plants. I placed it right next to the window; within a month every one of those triangular leaves had pressed up against the glass trying to get more sunlight.
Mine was also a gift. I’m finding that it likes well drained soil, full sunlight, and I water it about every 10 days. I live in a very humid climate so you might have to water more often. It really is easy to grow.
The cultivated forms of Oxalis triangualtus mostly seem to have leaves that are even more purplish. It’s possible that it could be another kind of Oxalis , but probably the best bet is just to look around on some horticultural sites to see if you can find a better match.