Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 1.37-1.40

Rules and Stuff
1) It's probably possible to vote more than once per poll, but please don't. If I believe that someone is voting repeatedly, I will throw out those results, repost the poll, and seriously question that person's priorities.
2) If you want to link to a poll on Twitter / Facebook / your blog / whatever and encourage your friends to come and pump up the support for your favorite plants, you are encouraged to do so.
3) You are also encouraged to leave comments on Rumble posts, if so moved.
4) All photos will enlarge if opened in a separate window/tab.
5) You can choose which plant is "best" according to whatever criteria you decide for yourself. My personal process is a bit convoluted.¹
6) All polls will be open for three days.

Today's results (matches 1.21 to 1.24):

Match 1.21 is another one of those rare matches that started out favoring the eventual loser (Ficus lyrata, in this case) and then flipped. Dracaena marginata cvv. won, 61 to 51.
Match 1.22 was quite a bit more one-sided: Cereus peruvianus beat Fittonia albivenis cvv. without even transpiring hard. Final score was 71 to 40.

Dracaena marginata will face Cereus peruvianus in match 2.11, on October 9.

The most one-sided match for this set was 1.23, Polyscias balfouriana and P. scutellaria vs. Hoya carnosa cvv. Hoya won easily, taking Polyscias down 82 to 23.
Finally: match 1.24 is where I realize that I hate slightly more than half of y'all. Maranta leuconeura cvv. defeated Anthurium cvv. 63 to 50.² I take some consolation in the fact that it was at least relatively close.

Hoya carnosa and Maranta leuconeura next compete on October 9, against one another in match 2.12.

And now, the matches for today:

Match 1.37
Pilea involucrata 'Norfolk' vs. Cereus tetragonus (fairy castle cactus, Acanthocereus tetragonus, Cereus hildmannius cv.)

(Both Pilea involucrata 'Norfolk.')

Cereus tetragonus. (Photo credit: Gwen's River City Images, via Flickr.)





Match 1.38
Chlorophytum comosum cvv. (spider plant) vs. Echinocactus grusonii (golden barrel cactus)

Clockwise from left: Chlorophytum comosum 'Vittatum,' C. comosum 'Vittatum,' NOID.

(Echinocactus grusonii.)





Match 1.39
Peperomia clusiifolia cvv. vs. Kalanchoe luciae / thyrsiflora (flapjack plant)

Bottom right: Peperomia clusiifolia. Other photos: P. clusiifolia variegated cv. (sometimes 'Rainbow,' 'Red Margin,' 'Jellie,' etc.)

Left: Kalanchoe thyrsiflora flowers. Right top and bottom: probably K. luciae.





Match 1.40
Echeveria cvv. and related plants (Sedeveria, Graptoveria, Pachyveria, etc.) vs. Nephrolepis exaltata cvv. (Boston fern, fluffy ruffles fern)

Top row, L-R: Echeveria 'Perle von Nurnberg,' E. 'Topsy Turvy,' E. setosa.
Middle row, L-R: Graptosedum 'Alpenglow - Vera Higgins,' Echeveria coccinea flowers, Echeveria 'The Rose.'
Bottom row, L-R: Echeveria nodulosa, Pachyveria x glauca, Echeveria x shaviana 'Pinky.'

Top and bottom right: unidentified Nephrolepis exaltata cvv. Bottom left: N. exaltata 'Lemon Button.'





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¹ I'm deciding according to a hypothetical situation in which all of my houseplants are gone, as are all the other houseplants of the world, except for one producer/supplier/retailer. Said person is offering to restock me with one or the other of the plants in question but refuses to give me both. Which one would I choose?
² Seriously, though -- you guys take Yucca guatemalensis and Anthurium both out in the first round? Have I done something to make you hate me?

List: Houseplants Native to Mexico

This is not even remotely an exhaustive list: Mexico is big, and diverse, and is home to a substantial chunk of the world's succulents, and a really stupidly large percentage of the world's cacti. Also, the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts both straddle the U.S.-Mexico border, so some of their plants do as well, which means that some of these "Mexican" plants might be perfectly normal residents of the U.S. too. Which is fine. They can do that if they want.

As before, I'm happy to add additional plants to the list, if anybody wants to suggest any in comments.

Astrophytum myriostigma (bishop's-cap cactus).


Beaucarnea recurvata (ponytail palm).


Chamaedorea metallica (metallica palm).


Echinocactus grusonii (golden barrel cactus).


Pedilanthus tithymaloides (devil's backbone).


Sedum morganianum (burro's tail, donkey tail).


Selenicereus chrysocardium (fern-leaf cactus). Also Central America.


Tradescantia zebrina cv. (wandering Jew)


Vanilla planifolia, variegated (vanilla orchid). Also in Central America, I believe.


Zamia furfuracea (carboard palm).

As far as a favorite three of these goes, well, longtime readers will not be surprised to find out that Pedilanthus tithymaloides is number one. After that it gets hard to pick, since I have all but one of these (I don't own a Vanilla) and like most of them. But the #2, 3, and 4 spots would go to Chamaedorea metallica, Astrophytum myriostigma, and Selenicereus chrysocardium, not necessarily in that order.

Not pictured:
Agave americana (also United States)
Agave attenuata (foxtail agave)
Agave victoriae-reginae (also United States)
Astrophytum ornatum
Beloperone guttata (shrimp plant)
Chamaedorea elegans (parlor palm)
Echeveria spp. (some spp.)
Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia)
Graptopetalum paraguayense (ghost plant)
Mammillaria spp. (some spp.)
Pinguicula spp. (butterworts) (some spp.)
Sedum rubrotinctum (jellybean plant)
Tradescantia pallida (purple heart, purple queen)
Yucca guatemalensis (spineless yucca; still called by its old name, Y. elephantipes, quite a bit) (also Central America)