Muehlenbeckia Species, Centipede Plant, Ribbon Bush, Tapeworm Plant

There is a plant growing in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It is growing as a large bush about 1 1/2 metres high and about 1 metre wide...Read More outside in a relatively shady spot during the afternoons. So, the cold Melbourne winters don't seem to affect it.

I've had one of these growing in a pot for several years. It's now about 1.5 m tall and rather sprawly.

In Ethiopia the...Read Morere is also a medium-sized tree (unrelated to this plant) called 'Kosso' or 'Qosso' (which means tapeworm) from which people produce a traditional remedy for tapeworm.

This is a really weird plant who's name, the Tape Worm Plant, describes it nearly perfectly. It has leaves that grow in flat segments an...Read Mored look just like a branching, green tape worm. I have only seen in a few botanical collections as an Australian native, but I am finally seeing it in nurseries. Mine grew great and did well on average watering, not having any problems with some frost. I don't know it's cold tolerance. I does tend to get out of control, though, and start to climb up nearby trees and fences, draping its long, light, weird wormy leaves on everything.

The name comes from the flat leafless stems that resemble tapeworms.The small green flowers appear at the joints of stems and are followe...Read Mored by red fruits. This plant is native to the Solomon Islands.This plant will reach 3-4 feet in pots, but in warm climates grown outdoors my reach 10-12 feet.