Named for Bartolomeo Maranta, an Italian physician and botanist of the sixteenth century, the Maranta genus includes a few dozen low-growing plants native to the American tropics. The plant gets its common name from the fact that its leaves stay flat during the day and then fold up like praying hands at night.

Light:

You can hang or set your prayer plant near a window where it will receive indirect sunlight. Never set your plant in direct sunlight because the sun will scorch the plant’s leaves or the leaves will develop blotches or patches and fade in color intensity. The plant is generally tolerant of lower light areas. In the winter, when the plants go into dormancy (and sometimes die back completely), provide them with bright light to maintain growth.