Aspidistra, also known as the cast-iron plant or bar-room plant, is a genus of plant native to the tropical and subtropical regions of East Asia. It belongs to the asparagus family, Asparagaceae, and comprises about 140 species, of which only a few can be kept as houseplants. The best known is probably Aspidistra elatior. Aspidistra are commonly known as cast-iron plants as they are very robust and easy to care for. They are considered virtually indestructible!
While these herbaceous, evergreen plants grow slowly, they can reach around 80 cm high. Aspidistra leaves are not attached to a stem but instead grow out of the rhizome. These dark green leaves sit on long leaf stalks. In nature, cast-iron plants produce bell-shaped flowers. Aspidistra flowers are not easy to spot as they have extremely short stalks and so grow very close to the ground. This also explains why cast-iron plants need snails as pollinators. Kept indoors as a houseplant however, Aspidistra rarely bloom.