''Anthurium scherzerianum'', the flamingo flower or pigtail plant, is a species of '' Anthurium'' (family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). ...

) native to Costa Rica. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

as an ornamental houseplant, kept at or higher. It is naturally an epiphyte, growing on trees in the rainforest. ''A. scherzerianum'' typically reaches tall. Its most striking feature is its orange-red curly spadix. It produces shiny, lance-shaped leaves about long. Common pests include mealybugs, aphids, and soft scale. When growing indoors, it needs bright indirect sunlight for 10 to 12 hours a day depending on the season. If the light is not bright enough, the number of flowers (flower density) will be very less. While often grown as a houseplant, it may be grown outdoors in the US in

USDA hardiness zones A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

11 and 12. The leaves contain

calcium oxalate Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate ...

crystals, making them poisonous if ingested. The sap of the leaves may also irritate skin.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1746442 scherzerianum Endemic flora of Costa Rica House plants Plants described in 1857