Cyclanthus bipartitus

Cyclanthus bipartitus, is a perennial plant, commonly known as ‘Split-leaf Cyclanthus’ and belongs to Cyclanthaceae family. Quite often it is misunderstood as a palm, due to its superficial similarity in appearance with some palms. It is native to tropical Latin America and West Indies.

Cyclanthus bipartitus as a pot plant

Cyclanthus bipartitus

The plant has underground stem from which tall stalked leaves emerge. The leaves are spilt in to two halves. Leaf blades are about 45 to 60 cm. long. Leaf stalks too are 45 to 60 cm long. In its native tropical situations it is reported that it grows up to 3 meters in height.

Cyclanthus bipartitus

The plant grows healthier in semi shade, rather than in full sunlight. The plant prefers humid atmosphere. Planting medium should be just moist all the time, but no over watering or stagnation of water. It is an ideal plant for indoor gardening. In Mumbai, India, I have grown these plants for many years but not once did they flower. The peculiar shaped flowers are supposed to be pleasantly scented.

Cyclanthus bipartitus fruit

Propagation is mainly by division of clumps. However, I have succeeded in propagating this plant from leaf cuttings. A single leaf with stalk trimmed to about 3 cm long and the leaf blades were trimmed to retain only about 15 cm length were planted in a sandy potting medium. I got almost 95% success in propagating this plant with leaf cuttings. A single leaf cutting is capable of producing multiple sprouts, which can be separated when they grow about 6 to 8 cm tall.

Cyclanthus bipartitus propagation with leaf cuttings. small arrows show new plantlets  growing

New plantlets ready for transplanting

Four plantlets propagated from a single leaf cutting