Dischidia nummularia (Apocynaceae) is a dainty native vine that grows as an epiphyte on paperbarks and other coastal trees in northern Queensland, sometimes in association with Myrmecodia species (ant-plants) and some native orchids.
In favourable situations, these plants develop an attractive cascade of rounded succulent leaves. People have likened Dischidia nummularia foliage to strings of coins or buttons, hence its common names ‘Money plant’ or ‘Button orchid” (although botanically it’s not an orchid).
Dischidia nummularia bears tiny creamy flowers at seemingly erratic intervals, easily overlooked in wild plants growing high in the trees. Their delicate beauty is best appreciated at eye-level, as I discovered when my plant in a hanging basket produced its first flowers this month.
These plants are seldom seen in cultivation although they are grown successfully by a few keen enthusiasts even in temperate latitudes, typically indoors or in well-sheltered locations.
Dischidia nummularia can be propagated from seed or small segments of stem. Both methods seem to require a good deal of luck and patience.
For botanical details see the Dischidia nummularia entry in the database of Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants