Taken from the Eclectic Gardener @ http://www.teachinggarden.org/
Written by Alan Hickman

As the last column reviewed a book on indoor plants, this seems like a good time to take a look beyond the skid-loads of anonymous 'Mixed Tropicals', which are trucked into the big-box-stores, and the ubiquitous poinsettias stacked up in the supermarkets, and to meet some of the more interesting tropical plants which are locally available .
For no better reason than that its name begins with an 'a', we can start with the now rarely seen Aspidistra elatior. In the eighteen and early nineteen hundreds, almost no working-class row-house in Britain would have been without an Aspidistra, sitting in a big brass pot, on a stand in the front parlour. It was one of the few plants which would put-up with the dim light and the dust and fumes from the open coal fires and gas lighting. The plants could also survive heat, cold, drought, and general neglect.
Aspidistra elatior is included in the lily family and it originated in southern China. Under good conditions, the slow-growing plant can reach a height of about three feet but half that height is more usual. Each glossy dark green leaf is born on a long stalk which springs from a thick creeping rhizome at or just below the soil surface. The plant seldom blooms in captivity but, when it does, the flowers are bell-shaped, about an inch in diameter and born at ground level attached directly to the rhizome. These plants are sometimes sold under the name Aspidistra lurida.
Another group of plants much admired in Victorian times was that of Dracaena. The genus Dracaena is comprised of some 40 to 150 species - depending on who is doing the classifying - ranging from herbs to trees and being mostly native to Africa. Dracaena deremensis was found in tropical east Africa, as a shrub, growing to a height of fifteen feet. Even in a pot the plant can get up over ten feet tall but, fortunately, it grows very slowly so it will take years before you have to cut a hole in the ceiling. This is clearly a plant for use as a focal point in a bright open livingroom or hallway. Connoisseurs, however, consider the plant to be most attractive when it is young, before it develops a noticeable stalk, so Dracaena deremensis also has a place in more intimate locations. The cultivar 'Limelight'is quite outstanding for its light green leaf colour.
Cordyline is a genus related to Dracaena but it is a much smaller group having just fifteen species. Found in SE Asia, Australasia, and in the tropical islands eastwards across the Pacific, Cordylines usually have solitary stems topped by a tuft of palm-like, sword-shaped, leaves. Cordyline terminalis is the species most often found as a house-plant but, in it's native Hawaiian home, its leaves are the 'grass'used in hula skirts. There are several cultivars which have leaves of various colours.
Alocasia is a large genus of slightly woody herbs of the arum family. Alocasia korthalsii only grows to a height of about a foot and a half but the foliage spreads out and is quite eye-catching. The plant hails from Borneo and has large elongated heart-shaped leaves which, on top, are deep olive-green with whitish ribs and purple underneath. Like most show-offs, Alocasia korthalsii is greatly encouraged if given attention. While Alocasia is not really happy in a livingroom, if it can be grown in a terrarium, or be put somewhere with high humidity and be given lots of fertilizer and water, it will be spectacular. Alternatively, after a few months inside, a recuperation period in a greenhouse will work wonders for a plant if it's got a bit mopey.
Finally there is the bizarrely named Zamioculcas zamiifolia. The 'zami'in the names alludes to the plant genus Zamia which is a cycad. Cycads are a very ancient group of plants and Zamioculcas zamiifolia looks curiously like something from the age of dinosaurs. The plant is native to Kenya and the north end of South Africa. The swollen bases of the fleshy stems grow from a potato-like rhizome and the glossy succulent dark-green leaves stick out like they were an afterthought.
For all its oddity, this rather rare plant is well suited for life in the dry winter air of central heating. If, in summer, Zamioculcas zamiifolia can be put outside, in a protected shaded location, it will thrive and it may even be induced to produce a few white flowers.
Although you will probably get a strange look if you ask for any of the above plants at the Wal-Mart, they - and a whole lot more - are available for sale in the tropical house of Humber Nurseries. Humber Nurseries Ltd. is located on Hwy 50., just south of Hwy 7., on the eastern boundary of Brampton.