This plant popped up in my faux-tropical shade garden about three years ago, right after I started cultivating the patch. The plot had been neglected for who knows how long, so this plant must have been placed there by some gardener who's since moved on.

I assume it's some kind of domesticated cultivar because it does not look like anything native to my region (Southern California). It seems to disappear every winter and return in spring. And each year it gets a little bigger. This year the shiny, teardrop-shaped leaves are about 5 inches long. My guess is that it needs more sun than it's getting now, which is very little.

{{gwi:336772}}