Maturity

There are some species of plant out there that have different shaped leaves when the plant becomes "mature". One such example is Dizygotheca, a small tree that is typically used for indoor plant displays. When the plant is immature, the leaves are small and narrow, like in the first photo. As the plant becomes more established, the leaves begin to broaden and become more serrated, like in the second photo. When the plant is fully mature and able to reproduce the leaves become quite broad and take on a lighter shade of green. With this species, the juvenile leaves look almost nothing like the mature leaves of the plant. The most interesting part about these plants is that if you prune off the mature foliage it will revert back to the juvenile foliage. So it is quite possible to find a tree with two very different types of leaves growing out of it on different branches.

This is quite a handy plant with indoor plant displays as it can be difficult to find plants that will readily flower indoors, so the use of coloured foliage and textured foliage is used instead. The juvenile leaves of Dizygotheca is ideal for this purpose, as they have a lovely fine, almost delicate, texture to them while having a lovely deep burgundy look about them. They prefer part sun and will tolerate being indoors if they get enough light and the right amount of water (damp, not sopping wet). Dizygotheca will turn into a small tree if given the right conditions. It can be grown out doors and the root room will give it chance to throw some mature leaves, just make sure its not coping full sun and it should grow quite nicely.