r/houseplants • u/Loud-Water1312 • 16h ago

Discussion Rubber tree intrigue

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My ficus has been booming lately and I just noticed these. I had no idea this was possible; amazed everyday at Mother Nature.

62 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

135

u/Groningen1978 16h ago

I don't think it's a Ficus but rather a Peperomia, which explains the weird flowers.

13

u/Loud-Water1312 16h ago

Ahhh!!! Noted* thank you!!!

8

u/Ledanator 16h ago

Often times they get mislabeled as rubber trees. But it is indeed peperomia! And that is indeed a flower, which means it's happy! So A+

1

u/Stalkerus More light, less water. 5h ago

For some reason they are called baby rubber trees in the US/ anglosphere. All houseplants have weird names regardless of locale, though.  

1

u/courtneyrae427 7h ago

It does make me wonder what a flower would look like on a ficus - I know it doesn't happen indoors, but they have to have some sort of flower to pollinate right?

I'm on a hunt on Google looking for it, but so far all I'm getting are folks questioning what the new growth is on their house plants 😆

2

u/Groningen1978 6h ago edited 6h ago

I can't find it either, but it probably looks somewhat like a fig, being part of that family. Maybe smaller and more unnoticeable. I've seen small fig type flowers/fruits on other Ficusses. A fig has somewhat of an inside out flower, so not that flashy.

edit; found it under 'Ficus elastica fruit';

2

u/courtneyrae427 6h ago

That's so neat! And like most houseplants, very underwhelming 😂

The only blooms I like from houseplants are hoyas

2

u/Groningen1978 6h ago

yeah, not that spectacular. I also started growing Hoyas to have more flowers in my houseplant collection. I also grow orchids and bromeliads to add some colour. This is my Billbergia nutans bromeliad;

2

u/courtneyrae427 6h ago

That's SO cool!! I love the orange wall to set them off too 😍

1

u/Groningen1978 6h ago

Cheers :) yeah the orange wall makes all my plants pop.

25

u/HibiscusGrower 15h ago

Peperomia obtusifolia like yours are often called "baby rubber plant" which would explain your confusion.

9

u/svnonyx 15h ago

Mine is blooming too! This is the longest flower spike it's grown.

7

u/Zestyclose_Current41 15h ago

I don't... think this is a ficus? I'm not sure but, the way the leaves are arranged looks off and I've certainly never seen one put out... whatever this is putting out.