Art that grows

Photo taken at NY Botanical Garden. The plant looked like art to me. It was growing under a sign that read "bamboo costus" ... Southwest Costa Rica. The sign was a bit misplaced (you'll see in the full shot). My guess is that this is an exotic aloe.

Nice slice. I like the contrast, and it does look very much like living, growing art. It would be great to see the full picture. It is not an aloe, but hopefully someone here can point you in the right direction for an ID.

Very nice, Sean. Could it be this:
Rattlesnake Plant (Goeppertia insignis)

Wow! That is gorgeous Sean! What a cool plant and fantastic banner.

Karen, I think you properly ID it!

Thank you for the , Casey!

Isn't that interesting. Very cool... Yes, I would also love to see a full photo of this pretty plant.

Karen, I agree. I think you nailed it.

Karen, amazing that you found it! Sean, I agree with you about the name you gave the banner. It looks as if someone practices painting leaves on a leaf----

Great banner Sean!

This made a unique banner, Whitebeard. Great shot!

That name is now a synonym. These plants keep changing their names!
Rattlesnake Plant (Goeppertia insignis)

Very nice banner Sean.

Great banner, Sean! The rattlesnake plant is a great houseplant. I have one too. Love the colors.

Congratulations on a really striking banner, Sean. 'Art that grows' is a very apt caption!

The leaf markings, remind me of the hand painted Italian pottery my DW has collected. Great Banner Sean

Great banner Sean. Very unique

Thank you all for the wonderful comments and info. I'm delighted to learn the name of the plant. Nice job, Karen! Special thanks to @bootandall, @cliftoncat, @dirtdorphins, @greenappleagnes, @ScotTi (!!!), and @Seedfork for the acorns. Much appreciated.

Here's the fuller shot. You can see what I mean about the sign!


My thought about aloe was because there was Aloe Harlana growing in a nearby bed. They look a bit similar to me.


Enjoy the spring. Here in the NE we're still waiting for it to really do it's thing.

Gorgeous banner and database photo of that Rattlesnake Plant!

LOL, I do see Costus stenophyllus stems at center back in the photo and the Costus leaves at the top right.

Love that pretty Aloe too! You really got some beautiful photos!

I love the full pic of it, and that aloe is very special too. It's not one I'm familiar with.

Here's the database listing for that pretty Harla Aloe (Aloe harlana)

I recently added a comment about that plant, which is lovely. Sean, any chance of filing that aloe picture away in the database? Very much also art that grows...

Aloe harlana is one of the so-called mosaic aloes, a group of East African plants with longitudinal splotchy patterns on glossy leaves, and is frequently misidentified. For what it's worth, I suspect that all the flower pictures under that database listing (and the leaf pictures associated with them) are actually A. somaliensis, which makes multibranched inflorescences with pink flowers. According to my aloe reference, the flowers on harlana are supposed to be deep red or bright yellow. Anyway, more detail than you really needed to know...