Fittonia is a small genus of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae (order Lamiales), commonly known as nerve plants or mosaic plants. Native to tropical and subtropical forest floors of northern and western South America — primarily Perú — these low-growing plants rarely exceed 10–15 cm in height and are recognised above all by their strikingly patterned foliage: broad, deep-green leaves are overlaid with a dense network of white, cream, or deep-pink veins that superficially resembles a nervous system, giving rise to the "nerve plant" name.
The genus is most familiar through Fittonia albivenis and its many cultivars, which dominate the houseplant trade worldwide. A second accepted species, F. gigantea, grows somewhat larger. Stems carry a fine fuzz common to other acanthus-family genera. Flowers are small and inconspicuous — white to off-white on angular, upright bloom spikes — and bear a close resemblance to the inflorescences of the related polka-dot plant genus Hypoestes.
In their natural habitat, Fittonia plants spread across shaded forest floors, making them well suited to low-light cultivation as houseplants or shaded garden groundcover in frost-free climates. They are notably sensitive to drought, wilting rapidly when the top layer of substrate dries, then reviving quickly once watered.
Distribution
Fittonia is native to tropical and subtropical forested regions of northern and western South America, with its centre of diversity in Perú. In temperate parts of the world the plants cannot survive frost outdoors and are grown as houseplants, requiring temperatures above 13 °C (55 °F).
Cultivation
Fittonia thrives in bright, indirect light in moist, well-drained substrate and ambient temperatures above 13 °C (55 °F). Plants wilt conspicuously when the growing medium dries out but recover quickly after watering; bottom watering — standing the pot in a tray of water — is particularly effective and keeps foliage free of water droplets that could encourage fungal disease. New plants are readily raised from stem cuttings rooted in water or placed directly into moist media such as sphagnum moss, perlite, coco fibre, or well-aerated soil.
Propagation
Fittonia can be propagated by taking stem cuttings and rooting them in a vessel of water in a bright, indirectly lit spot, or by inserting cuttings directly into moist substrate (sphagnum moss, perlite, coco fibre, LECA, or well-aerated soil). Pruning the growing tips of the mother plant also stimulates new leaf growth within a few weeks.
