Variegated

The homeland is the tropical jungles of Malaysia and East India ^[2] .

Stem erect, branching. In favorable conditions it grows up to 3-4 m tall, which is possible only in heated greenhouses. Under room conditions, the size of the plant is much smaller (about 50-70 cm) ^[3] .

The leaves are large, up to 30 cm, leathery, with the next arrangement. The leaves have a variety of bright colors with eye-catching yellow, red or green veins: all shades of yellow and green, orange and red, sometimes even black. The plant also has a wide variety of leaf plate shapes: linear, lanceolate, oval, lobed, guitar-like. The edges of the leaves are spirally twisted, wavy, smooth, with constrictions. Each plant is reminiscent of the riot of autumnal deciduous forest colors, and it retains its royal outfit all year round for many years.

Plant dioecious. Male and female flowers differ from each other in structure and are collected in racemes. Women have no petals , men - with a nimbus and a cup ^[4] .

It is bred as a houseplant , florist attracts a variety of colors, shapes and leaves in these plants. For the first time in the West, motley codiaum became known in the first half of the XIX century .

For a long time, it was believed that the codiaums need high temperature and therefore they cannot land in the house. Now they are grown and at low temperatures and they have become popular indoor plants.

To preserve the color of the leaves, kodaeiums need bright sunlight. With a lack of light, the leaves turn green. With good illumination, the codiums can bloom every year. The plant does not tolerate drafts. Propagated by cuttings and air layering.

Agrotechnics

Codium is a heat-loving plant, in winter it is kept at a temperature of about 16-18 ° C, at least 16 ° C.

To maintain the multi-colored color of the leaves, you need a lot of sun, but they are gradually accustomed to the spring sun. In the summer, you may need shading from the sun during the hottest hours. In winter you need a bright room. With a lack of lighting, the variegation of leaves is lost. The ideal location is the east or west window.

Prefers abundant watering from spring to autumn, the soil should only dry out. In winter, watering is more moderate. Poorly tolerates the dryness of the earthy coma, while it can lose almost all the leaves, although excessive soil moisture is also not desirable. Water for irrigation should be warm and well defended. To prevent water from stagnating at the bottom of the pot, make good drainage.

From April to August, they are fed with special mineral fertilizers for indoor plants, every 2 weeks.

Loves moist air. Kodiya regularly sprayed and rubbed the leaves. Codiaum suffers in winter in rooms with central heating when the air in the room is too dry. But since this plant is thermophilic and in winter the temperature should not fall below 16-17 ° C, it can only be kept in a heated room.

When transplanting the soil mix is ​​used: 1 part sod, 1 part leaf, 1 part peat land, 1 part sand. Replace once in two years, old in three - four years. Codia does not like too big dishes. Drainage is required.

Propagated by cuttings that are cut at the end of winter and rooted in water or wet sand, using phytohormones (growth stimulants) or during soil heating.

With great dryness of the air, the plant is damaged by a weevil , spider mite , aphids, and a worm . Tick ​​infestation is most dangerous. Codia in this case sheds leaves, and it is rather difficult to restore his old outfit ^[5] .

Codia is sensitive to excessive soil moisture, low temperatures and drafts. Under adverse conditions, the leaves turn yellow and dry.

In culture, a huge number of hybrid forms are known. Some varieties and forms ^[6] :

• Codiaeum variegatum var. genuinum diff. genuinna leaves are flat, entire, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, the tip and base are pointed. On the upper side of the leaf, especially along the central vein, there is a golden or silver painting. Sometimes the leaf has a reddish tint.
• Codiaeum variegatum var. ovalifolium diff. oval leaves - leaves oblong-oval, flat, whole, rounded-dulled at tops and at the base, pronounced golden-yellow areas.
• Codiaeum variegatum var. picturatum diff. the decorated one resembles the previous one in the form of a leaf, but the “second” leaf is narrower and elongated, rather elongate-lanceolate.
• Codiaeum variegatum var. recurvifolium diff. otvorochennolistnaya - has wide, almost oval leaves, their edges are turned outwards.
• Codiaeum variegatum var. tortile diff. tortoise - the lamina at the base is deltoid or heart-shaped, elongated at the top, linear with a slightly pointed tip, sheet spiraling weakly expressed. The leaves of various forms of this variation are characterized by a motley color: on the olive-green background there is a distinct reddish central vein, along which there is a golden stripe, and spots of the same color of irregular shape, scattered on both sides of the central vein. On one plant can be leaves, completely painted in golden color or with a reddish shade.
• Codiaeum variegatum var. trilobium diff. three - lobed - the base is wedge-shaped or deltoid, the lamina is tripartite. The leaf color is various: there are forms with golden central and lateral veins, which are emphasized by spots of the same color. Other plants have wide golden stripes along the central and lateral veins.
• Codiaeum variegatum var. volutum diff. wrapped - widely lanceolate elongated leaves are wrapped inwards towards the stem, as a result of which the plant acquires an almost spherical shape.
• Codiaeum variegatum f. angustifolium is narrow-leaved - leaves are narrow, linear, 15―20 cm long, 0.5―1.0 cm wide, tip slightly elongated. Golden spots are scattered randomly on a green background, and the veins can be painted in the same color.
• Codiaeum variegatum f. appendiculatum celak. appendicular form - attracts the attention of the original form of leaves. The wide-ovoid or lanceolate-ovate leaf plate at the apex narrows, forming a second petiole, as it were, on which a second leaf plate is formed, resembling in shape but basic, but smaller. The color on both sides is green, although there are variegated forms.
• Codiaeum variegatum f. crispum cv. Spirale form curly cultivar Spirale - petiolate leaves, prostrate, rather long and narrow, oblong-or linear-lanceolate, twisted into a spiral. Within this species, there are plants with different leaf blades:
  • leaves are linear-lanceolate with golden veins forming a mesh pattern on a green background;
  • leaves of the same shape, but spiral-curly with a golden central vein;
  • leaves are lanceolate, extending from the stem at an angle of 30―45 °, rounded, along the central vein golden strip of indefinite shape;
  • leaves are longitudinally lanceolate, more or less spirally twisted with golden spots diffusely scattered over a green background.
• Codiaeum variegatum f. lobatum lobate shape - the leaves are simple, rather large (18―22 cm long, 7―10 cm wide), the lamina is three-lobed, the central lobe is elongated, the lateral ones are shorter, separated from it by a deep notch. The base of the sheet is narrowed. Green leaves with yellow stripes and spots.

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  male inflorescence

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  male flower

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  the seeds

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• V.V. Chub, K.D. Lezina . Complete encyclopedia of indoor plants. M .: EKSMO-Press, 2001. ISBN 5-04-006077-7
• L. A. Burlutskaya . Houseplants. M .: AST, 2009. ISBN 978-5-17-016629-9

• Moscow Club Room Floriculture: Croton
• Planet of Flowers: Croton (Codiae Variety
• Plant World: Codieum, or Croton
• Houseplants for home and soul: codia