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My current favorite houseplant is the Ficus Audrey. Its silhouette, in my opinion, is perfectly balanced. Its large, matte green leaves (perfectly-, almost-generically-, shaped leaves of a deep, pleasing dark green color accentuate the bold light green veins that reach across their surfaces) are distributed evenly along a straight, elegant central stalk, distanced just far enough apart from each other that each leaf is legible as its own, beautiful object.
The stalk is like a display structure, presenting a gallery of perfect leaves, each leaf carefully arranged and poised at a different angle, so that looking at the plant as a whole allows you to see every single possible angle of the leaf it has designed. The plant feels as if it is saying, I spent a lot of time designing the perfect leaf, so please look at it from every possible angle. Let me make it easy for you to appreciate my leaves. Here, I’ll space them out for you so you can appreciate them with the care I’ve made them with.
Perhaps, then, I am drawn to the Ficus Audrey because it is a proud plant. It stands tall, knowing that it makes beautiful things, and is confident in showing off each of its creations. I do not imagine that if I were a plant, I would express myself in the same way.
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From quietly provocative international best selling author and TV writer Jonny Sun, A small list of knowable things is a weekly illustration and reflection on a personal object close to his heart. If you haven't already, you can subscribe here.
Ficus Audrey (Ficus benghalensis)
