Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah Snake Grass)

Clinacanthus nutans (Snake plant) close up red orange flower with yellow tips on leaves
Clinacanthus nutans (Snake plant) flower with narrow green leaves, orange petals, and yellow highlights.

Botanical name: Clinacanthus nutans

Common names: Sabah Snake Grass, Phaya Yo

Family: Acanthaceae

Origin: Malaya

USDA Plant Hardiness Map

USDA Zone: 9-11

Large shrub 5-10 ft tallPlant form: Large bush
Plant mature sizeMature height: 5-10 ft
Full sunSun exposure: Full sun or bright light indoor
Subtropical plant. Mature plant cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short timeCold tolerance: Tolerates light freezing to about 30°F for short periods (mature plants). Young plants must be protected.
Watering: Moderate. Water when top soil feels dryWatering: Moderate
Red, crimson, vinous flowersFlower color: Red, crimson, vinous
Suitable forSuitable for: Outdoors in the suitable USDA zone; small gardens, containers, and indoor growing
Ethnomedical plant. Plants marked as ethnomedical and/or described as medicinal, are not offered as medicine but rather as ornamentals or plant collectibles. Ethnomedical statements / products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We urge all customers to consult a physician before using any supplements, herbals or medicines advertised here or elsewhere.Ethnomedical: Ethnomedical plant, traditionally used in folk or indigenous medicine

Clinacanthus nutans, commonly known as Sabah Snake Grass, is a tropical member of the Acanthaceae family native from southern China through mainland Southeast Asia to western Malesia. It is a soft-stemmed, sprawling or climbing evergreen shrub with slender green branches and opposite, narrow lance-shaped leaves. Small tubular flowers are borne in drooping clusters and are usually greenish yellow to reddish or orange-red, attracting nectar-feeding visitors. The plant is better known in Southeast Asia as a traditional medicinal herb than as an ornamental and is widely cultivated around homes and in herb gardens.

Clinacanthus nutans grows best in warm, humid conditions with bright filtered light or partial shade and fertile, well-drained soil kept evenly moist. Regular pruning keeps the loose growth compact, and cuttings root readily, making propagation easy. It is a frost-tender tropical plant suitable outdoors in USDA Zones 10-11 and can be grown in containers elsewhere.


Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah Snake Grass) with narrow red flowers and green leaves, close up.
Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah Snake Grass) with narrow red flowers and green pointed foliage on stem.
Clinacanthus nutans green plant with small red flowers on thin woody branches
Clinacanthus nutans green plant with red flowers growing on thin woody stems.
Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah Snake Grass) red flower and narrow green leaves on a plant
Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah Snake Grass) orange-red tubular flower clusters with pointed, textured green foliage along branches.


Link to this plant:
https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/clinacanthus_nutans.htm
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