For the Plant Collectors Among Us: Pilea Serpyllacea Globosa

My introduction to the plant Pilea serpyllacea Globosa came when a plant-loving friend noted, “They must be scraping the Rainforest floor to find some of these ‘new’ plants.” I have to say, I agreed.

I often remark that I like plants which look like plants—plants that are familiar to me and make me nostalgic for times when I saw them in other gardens, in other eras. Pilea serpyllacea Globosa is not one of those plants. But I have grown to admire this wild and unexpected plant with tropical origins and styling like none other.

Pilea serpyllacea Globosa is a semi-succulent plant with burgundy-accented green stems that erupt into bubbly spheres of foliage. Yes, I guess I should know by now that foliage can take many forms. These tiny bubbles are one of those forms. Familiar… not to me. But as a collector’s plant, Pilea serpyllacea Globosa is perfect.

Very few people seem to have written descriptions of this plant. Even fewer growers have Pilea serpyllacea Globosa available for purchase. Ordinarily, this would not make me jump at the opportunity to run out to find it. I am not so much a houseplant collector as I am a lover of heritage perennials or garden plants, in general. But right now, as I find myself inching toward autumn, I am considering different holiday gifts for those I love (some of whom are houseplant collectors). For these collectors, I find myself ever more interested in Pilea serpyllacea Globosa.

People collect all manner of things, from stamps to coins to postcards. But I really admire friends who collect houseplants. In the scheme of things, these friends that I have (and I suspect you have) are on to something pretty worthwhile: learning more about and collecting exotic plants.

Pilea serpyllacea Globosa, often identified with the addition of the name ‘Kunth’, is named after just that sort of interesting collector and investigator. It is named after botanist Karl or Carl Kunth who, in the 1800s, served as professor, head of a premier botanical garden, and author who published important information on plants. Kunth was most interested in identifying and learning about plants in the Americas, and he happened to find this plant, Pilea serpyllacea Globosa, in South America. Although this discovery was not recent by any means, the plant remains little known here in the U.S. 

My plant-collector friends generally are not botanists like Carl Kunth and are much looser in their approach to gathering up unusual plant specimens for display. But they too love plants and love to admire their structure. I believe they would find this “bubbly” little plant, one that reminds me of a marine plant, very interesting.

Despite its wildly different looks, Pilea serpyllacea Globosa is easy to tend. It needs little that is different from what most houseplants want: specifically, full sun or partial shade, moisture in soil that is able to drain well, and periodic feedings (perhaps once a month). The revelation that this plant is an easy-care option serves as an important lesson to me: I am someone who assumes that the more unusual the plant, the more extreme its care will have to be. But I am slowly realizing that some of the most exotic plants are some of the easiest to keep healthy and looking good. 

For Pilea serpyllacea Globosa, Kunth, “looking good” means looking quite unusual. The bubbly nature of the foliage is appealing to me, like the bubbles in a glass of refreshing sparkling water or like the tiny bubbles that gather on the sand after a wave rolls in and then rolls back into the ocean. Its coloration, with stems and more touched by a bit of burgundy, helps it to add contrast to any indoor plant display where greens, chartreuse foliage, and the like are more the order of the day.

For extreme “collector value”—for something unexpected, different, and special—I think Pilea serpyllacea Globosa is a valuable houseplant to have and to share. And yes, as my friend indicated at the outset of my experience with this plant, and as my brief investigation into the life of Carl Kunth reveals, some real searching was necessary to find this plant in the first place. Even now, it is not easy to find. Your collector friends are likely not to have heard of it yet… yet. (You know, I have a feeling you’ll do something about that.)