Callisia fragrans aka Basketplant

Callisia fragrans comes from Mexico. It belongs to the Commelinaceae family. Kew says its home climate is tropical, with dry seasons. Kew calls the plant a semisucculent subshrub. This means it has some fleshy growth and a shrubby form. The Royal Horticultural Society accepts the plant's scientific name as correct. It also states that the species is not native to Britain or Ireland. Chicago Botanic Garden calls it dracaena spiderwort.

The sources describe its form in two different ways. Kew calls it a subshrub; Chicago calls it a vine. Chicago says its shape is horizontal, or grows across rather than up. The two accounts stress different aspects of its growth form. Neither gives its height or spread when full grown. So these sources cannot support a size range here. They give no details on the plant's bark or stems. Nor do they give leaf shape, size, or colour.

Chicago lists white flowers that bloom from March to April. These dates come from its record for this plant. The sources give no bloom dates for other regions. They do not say what shape this species' flowers take. The species name alone does not tell us about scent. None of these accounts says how the flowers smell. They give no facts about fruit, seeds, or pollination. We cannot use these sources to fill in those gaps.

Chicago lists part shade and a medium amount of water. It gives a hardiness range of USDA zones 10–11. These are the clearest facts about garden care in these records. Kew's dry-season climate label refers to the plant's native home. That alone does not show it can cope with drought in gardens. The sources give no soil texture or pH range for this species. They give no UK hardiness rating or growth rate either.

Chicago suggests this plant for beds or borders. Its growth across the ground fits that garden use. But the record gives no tips on spacing or pruning. The Chicago page is now an archive. Its updates stopped after February 2022. None of the species accounts names pests or diseases. They give no evidence for edible parts or use as medicine. These sources do not confirm whether it is toxic to people or pets. This lack of safety facts does not mean it is safe to eat.