PlantFiles: Chocolate Plant
Pseuderanthemum alatum

When I purchased this plant I was told it was a "drop dead" tropical and could only be grown here as a house plant or very tender annual.Fortunately no one told the plant that! It is delightful and every year we play "where's the chocolate?" in the garden. It's coloration is a wonderful foil to hostas and ferns and always draws visitors attention. It is easily propagated and easily transplanted.

I came across this plant years ago at a friends house in North Houston. I loved the colors because it was unusual so I had to have it. He gave me one and said "trust me, that's all you will need". He wasn't lying. It does reproduce and it has come up in some places I have no clue as to how it could have gotten there. But it's a fun plant and it's easy to control so I do not mind it coming up in various places. I just pull it up and transplant it where I want them. The one I posted a pic of has come up for three years in a row, so winters here in the Houston area do not kill it at the roots. It's an awesome plant to have next to bright colors because of the contrast. Like others have said as well, the more sun it recieves the darker chocolate color it will give off.

This plant was first introduced to me by a friend when I first got into gardening. Since then, I have enjoyed this plant immensely, without really a having to care for it much. Each year when I bring out plants that were over wintered in the greenhouse I look for my volunteer chocolate plants. I'm never disappointed. Often these are the most requested plants when visitors tour the garden, which I'm too happy to oblige by scouring the garden for the plentious seedlings sure to be found in any of the garden beds.
The leaves will turn a richer and darker chocolate color with more sun exposure, enhancing the silver colored spots in the center of the leaves. I start exposing the leaves in sun in early spring and the plant is quite tolerant of near full sun by summer.

These wonderful foliage plants grow beautifully either in the ground or in a pot. The seem to flower most of the summer in the prettiest purple. I love them and never think of them as a pest......just beautiful!!

In Zone 8b they freeze to the ground but return in spring..
They have not become a problem with seeding, possibly because the only place they have to go is into a St Augustine lawn and they havn't been able to get a foothold there.. They arn't heavy bloomers for me but the foliage is pretty and they do bloom now and then..

Bright shade and this novel little plant reseeds itself every year. While it is not a weed, it pops up in areas I did not especially want to plant the plant. It has pretty litle flowers. I like the silvery shading in the leaves.

Chocolate plant is an interesting novelty plant --- reseeds readily - too readily. It also spreads from bits of root left behind or dropped on the way to the compost pile. It is hard to control it's spread.

The leaves of this plant are chocolate brown with silver splotches along the main veins. Some bright light is necessary to bring out this color, otherwise it tends to be somewhat olive brown. The leaves measure 8" long by 5" wide in this pot grown plant. The winged petioles are of interest.

They reseed readily in central Florida, so some are always coming along. They don't seem to become a pest, though.