Plant of the Month

Plant of the Month: January 2021

Lettuce Tree

Pisonia grandis R. Br. 'Alba'

= Pisonia alba Span.

NYCTAGINACEÆ; Four O’Clock Family

Pisonia grandis clones grown by cuttings and used for ornament or as food sources go under varied names. Some have cream-colored young leaves --chlorophyll-free-- some are variegated, but all have notably pale green color. They are always spare flowering or sterile. Names include: Tree Lettuce. Lettuce Tree. Cabbage Tree. Moluccan Cabbage-tree. Malaysian/Malayan Lettuce-tree. Bombay Lettuce-tree. Lady Love. Moonlight Tree.

The parental species Pisonia grandis grows from Kenya and Tanzania to India, E Australia & W Pacific, being often the dominant forest tree of tropical Pacific coral atolls and islands that have large seabird colonies (such as terns and noddies) making much guano. It can grow 100 feet tall.

Since August 2011, I have grown Lettuce Tree as a houseplant. My houseplant clone is handsome, productive, and easy to grow. Its leaves measure up to 14 inches long by 7.5 inches wide, and minutely hairy, though at first glance appearing hairless. Mine has yet to bloom. In cultivation the tree flowers rarely; they are small, greenish and inconspicuous. Female clones are more grown than male.

Its young leaves raw or cooked taste like lettuce. My specimen has had no problems with insects. It does tend to be a space hog. When it gets too big I prune it back. If maximum growth is desired, then ample light, warmth and fertility are needed. Whereas, a little pot with cool temperature, and watered but not fertilized, will just sit there, barely living.

This is a plant deserving to be more often grown indoors. Below are seven photos I took over the years.

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