Plants With Red Stem
Many plant lovers and gardeners love to spruce up their living spaces and gardens with various colorful plants. However, when you are looking to plant some new ones or are curious about a red-stemmed plant that has popped up in your garden, it is important to identify them.
Now, if you go for a hike and come across an unfamiliar plant, you must first find out if it is safe for humans. And while plants with red stem and green leaves undoubtedly will catch your attention, not all of them are safe.
For example, some of these red-stemmed plants with green leaves, though beautiful, are extremely poisonous.
Plants With Red Stem
- Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius)
- Red Stem Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens)
- Red Stem Thalia (Thalia geniculata ‘Ruminoides’)
- American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)
- Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)
- Castor Bean Plant (Ricinus communis)
- Mountain Pepper (Drimys lanceolata)
- Elephant Bush (Portulacaria afra)
- Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
- Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
Red-Stemmed Plants With Green Leaves
Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius)
Wineberry is an Asian native plant, more specifically, grown in China, Japan, and Korea. The plant is an invasive species introduced to North America and Europe, becoming naturalized in those parts.
Red stems and green leaves characterize the plant, and it reaches a full height of 1-3 meters. Wineberries yield 1/2-inch berries that turn crimson when ripe in the summer or early fall. Its berries are edible and not poisonous. They are similar in taste to blackberries and raspberries.
Red Stem Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens)
Red Stem Apple Mint is another perennial or invasive plant that should be planted isolated as it can easily take over an entire garden. The Red Stem Apple Mint is the only plant of the family of mints that has the aroma and taste of both Peppermint and Spearmint.
The plant has soft green and fuzzy leaves and red stems, and it can reach a height of 24 inches. The plant will produce purple flowers that attract butterflies and bees during the summertime. You can use Red Stem Apple Mint in teas, fruit salads, and pies.
Red Stem Thalia (Thalia geniculata ‘Ruminoides’)
Red Stem Thalia is an aquatic perennial plant native to North America. The plant is known for its incredible bright red and long stems with lime-green leaves, which are paddle-shaped. The plant can reach heights up to 10 feet when fully grown and likes to be in the sun or partial shade for best performance.
The Red Stem Thalia makes a great addition to ponds, water gardens, or bog gardens as it grows in standing water up to 10 inches deep.
American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)
American Pokeweed is a perennial plant with red stems and green leaves native to eastern North America. The Pokeweed is one of the plants with red stems that are incredibly poisonous to humans, so you must be cautious and not eat its berries.
The berries ripen from red to purple and are a food source for various bird species. The plant is also naturalized in parts of Europe and Asia. The Pokeweed is considered a pest species by farmers as it is also poisonous to livestock and dogs.
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)
As its name suggests, the Himalayan Balsam is an invasive annual plant native to the Himalayas.
Through a human introduction, the Himalayan Balsam is now present in large parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The plant is often found near lakes, ponds, or damp meadows and along riverbanks and streams reaching heights up to 8.2 feet. It has red stems and green leaves.
Castor Bean Plant (Ricinus communis)
Castor Bean Plant is a fast-growing perennial red-stemmed plant that can grow up to 40 feet tall. The plant is native to east Africa and around Ethiopia and thrives in a warm climate.
The Latin name of the plant, Ricinus, means “tick”. It refers to its seed which looks very similar to the tick insects. The Castor seed is used to make castor oil, which has many medicinal uses.
Mountain Pepper (Drimys lanceolata)
The Mountain Pepper is an evergreen shrub native to south-eastern Australia, so the plant is also commonly referred to as the Tasmanian pepper. The Mountain Pepper is recognizable by its rich red stems adorned with oval-shaped deep green leaves.
The plant is dioecious, which means that male and female flowers grow on separate plants. The female plant needs a male plant nearby for pollination to produce berries. The leaves and berries of the Mountain Pepper are used as spices, usually dried.
Elephant Bush (Portulacaria afra)
The Elephant Bush is one of the most popular houseplants worldwide due to its low maintenance. The perennial succulent shrub is native to South Africa and has red stems along which the green leaves grow.
The plant can reach up to 14.7 feet. The Elephant Bush is often used in landscapes and as a specimen for Bonsai.
Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
The Lady’s Mantle is a herbaceous perennial plant in the rose family native to Turkey and the Carpathian Mountains. The plant is characterized by long reddish stems and scallop-edged light green leaves.
The Lady’s Mantle can grow up to 18 inches and performs best in full sun or part shade.
Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
Red Osier Dogwood is a flowering perennial plant native to North America, which can reach up to 12 feet. The Red Osier Dogwood is a plant with red stems, green leaves, and white flowers.
The stems serve as a food source for various animals like deer, moose, elk, mountain goats, beavers, and rabbits. At the same time, the plant’s fruits are a food source for bears, small mammals, and 47 bird species during fall.
Conclusion
These are some of the most well-known plants with red stem worldwide. Of course, there are many more plants out there with red stems and green leaves and if you are curious, you can easily find more. Hopefully, you’ll find the ones on our list appealing and you can easily find some to beautify your living space or garden.
