Calathea plants are the most famous house plants with leaves green on top and red/purple underneath (6 species of Calathea (Goeppertia)). However, your plant with green leaves on top and red/purple underneath can be a Peperomia or Begonia plant. You should know the name of your lovely indoor plants to care for them perfectly.
Every plant has its specific needs, some plants like lowlight places others prefer to live in high-light areas, some are happy in dry conditions and others are healthy in high humidity. To know about their needs, you should know their names.
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A Gallery of Plants with Green Leaves on Top and Red/Purple Underneath
Most plants with green leaves and red underneath belong to three plant groups, so, to make their identification easy for you, I grouped them into the below categories.
- A: Calathea house plant that has red/purple underneath its leaves
- B: Peperomia plant with leaves that are green on top and red/purple underneath
- C: Begonia plant with green leaves and red/purple underneath
A: Calathea House Plant That Has Red/Purple Underneath Its Leaves
Calathea plant is a genus of flowering plants that belong to the Marantaceae family with about 200 species. However, they were reclassified into the new genus Goeppertia. They are also known as prayer plants. In the following, you see 6 Calathea plants with green leaves and red underneath along with a species belonging to Stromanthe which is very similar to Calathea plants.
1- Calathea roseopicta (Goeppertia roseopicta)

It is an indoor plant with green patterned leaves and purplish to red coloured undersides. this plant is also known as Rose-painted Calathea.
2- Calathea lancifolia (Goeppertia insignia)

Scientific name: Calathea lancifolia (Goeppertia insignia)
It is also known as the Rattlesnake Plant.
3- Calathea crocata (Goeppertia crocata)

It is also known as the Eternal Flame Plant due to its brilliant orange flowers
4- Calathea warscewiczii (Geoppertia warszewiczii)

It is also known as the Jungle Velvet plant. It is a plant with green leaves and red/ purple underneath with white flowers.
5- Calathea ecuadoriana (Goeppertia ecuadoriana)

It is native to Ecuador. It is a plant with green leaves and red/ purple underneath with green flowers.
6- Calathea picturata (Goeppertia picturata)

It is a plant with light green leaves and dark green edges that are red/ purple underneath.
7- calathea triostar (Stromanthe sanguinea)

As you can find its scientific name (Stromanthe sanguine), Calathea triostar is not a real Calathea (Goeppertia), although it belongs to the Marantaceae family. It is also known as Stromanthe Triostar, Stromanthe thalia, and Tricolor plant.
B: Peperomia Plant With Leaves That Are Green On Top And Red/Purple Underneath
The Peperomia plant is one of the largest genera of the Peperomiacea with more than 1000 species. In the following, you will see 7 species of peperomia plant with leaves that are green on top and red underneath
8- Columbian Peperomia (Peperomia metallica var. colombiana)

This plant has dark green to black leaves and red underneath.
9- Peperomia Perciliata

This is a rare trailing/ veining plant with heart-shaped leaves, green leaves on top, red underneath, and a red stem.
10- Itsy Bitsy (Peperomia rubella)

This is a rare Peperomia plant with green leaves, red underneath, and red stems.
11- Emerald Ripple Pepper (Peperomia rosso)

People sometimes explain this variety as a plant with green leaves and red underneath and long things. It also has a red stem.
12- Red Log (Peperomia vericillata)

This variety of Peperomia has small fuzzy dark green leaves and red underneath with red stems too. it can be a pretty nice hanging plant.
13- Red and Silver (Peperomia trinervis)

It has green leaves with deeply visible parallel silver veins on the leaves and red underneath. Its stem is red too.
14- Ruby Glow (Peperomia graveolens)

It has thick green leaves and red underneath. It is also red. This variety is more similar to succulents.
C: Begonia Plant With Green Leaves And Red/Purple Underneath
Begonia is a flowering plant with a lot of varieties. You can find variegated leaves and flowers in various cultivars. In the following, you will see three Begonia plants with leaves that are green on top and red underneath.
15- Begonia ‘Wightii’ (Begonia maculata)

Begonia ‘Wightii’ is a plant with green leaves on top and red underneath with silver spots. It also has white followers.
16- Begonia acetosa

It is also known as ‘Ruby Begonia’. It has cupped green leaves with red undersides.
17- Nonstop Begomia

There are various varieties of Nonstop Begonia plants with green leaves and in some varieties red underneath with tan blooms. However, you can find cultivars of white, orange, and red flowers too.
18- Begonia Beleaf Jungle Black

This variety has black-green, velvety soft leaves and red underneath. There are curled ‘hairs’ at the edges of the leaves.
Conclusion
After reading this article, now you find out how to identify your plant with green leaves on top and red underneath by comparing it with the images of 18 popular houseplants that have red underneath leaves. Did you find your plant among them? What was its name? Please share your experience with our readers below this page.

Elahe Rabiei
Hi, I’m Elaheh. My Academic major is plant protection, and houseplants are my expertise. As a houseplant lover, my house is full of indoor plants and it is my passion to take care of them. Hence, I’m here to share my knowledge and experience about growing healthy houseplants. I am also a plant protection advisor, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.