Maranta leuconeura (prayer plant) is a species of flowering plant in the family Marantaceae, native to the Brazilian Rainforest. It is a variable, rhizomatous perennial, growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall and broad, with crowded clumps of evergreen, strikingly-marked oval leaves, each up to 12 cm (5 in) long. The leaves have a habit of lying flat during the day, and folding in an erect position at night, hence the common name "prayer plant". The specific epithet leuconeura means "white-veined", referring to the leaves.