Houseplant Sells For $10K On Palmstreet App, Breaking Record

A houseplant sold for $10,000 on the Palmstreet app in late August, breaking a record for a single plant sale on the platform, according to Angalena Malavenda, head of operations and marketing for Palmstreet, a shopping platform that sells collectibles.

A four-inch-tall, two-leaf specimen of the pink-variegated Alocasia infernalis was sold via a livestream by Bill Da Bui, owner of Southern California-based Beach City Botanicals. Native to Borneo tropical rainforests, the infernalis is prized for its glossy, nearly black leaves, a signature of mature plants.

“There are a lot of Alocasia infernalis being sold out there, but a limited number are variegated, so it carries a heftier price tag,” Da Bui says. “I think it’s going to be the hot plant for 2026.” Da Bui specializes in rare plants and what he calls “unicorns,” a debut specimen or a one-of-a-kind rarity within a genus.

Buyer Plans To Multiply Investment Through Propagation

Although $10,000 is a steep price to pay for a houseplant, such figures are not uncommon in the rare plant business. Three days after his Palmstreet sale, Da Bui privately sold a similar plant for $12,000 to the same buyer, Emily Gerson, who had purchased the $10,000 infernalis. “It had a higher price because of its genetics,” Da Bui says. “A market seller will overpay just for the genetics alone.”

Gerson’s $10,000 purchase was her first for an infernalis. “I definitely consider it to be one of the best plant investments I’ve made to date,” says Gerson, owner of Las Vegas-based Peculiar Plant Aunt. “Variegated and standard infernalis specimens are very hot right now.”

Once the plant matures, Gerson plans to multiply her investment through stem cuttings and corm farming. Corms could develop within a year, although the species is “notoriously tricky and sensitive,” says Gerson, whose business partner is fellow collector Bryan Morley.

Gerson admits $10,000 is “a huge amount of money” to spend on a small plant, “and a risky one at that.” But her venture is heading in the right direction: the plant she purchased from Da Bui recently sprouted another leaf.

“It’s all up to Black Amy,” she added, referencing the name Da Bui gave to the plant—inspired by the Amy Winehouse song, “Back to Black.”

What Makes This Plant Worth $10,000?

Given its goth look, the Alocasia infernalis has earned various monikers, including “Black Magic “and “Black Panther.” The backs of the leaves are often tinged red, hence the name infernalis, which is a Latin word with hellish connotations.

Paired with the black hues of the infernalis, pink variegation heightens the plant’s exotic appeal. Da Bui is thought to be the first seller to introduce a pink variegated infernalis to the U.S. rare plant market. He purchased the plant in Thailand.

Gerson has spent more than double what she paid for Da Bui’s infernalis on other finds. She recently bought a Monstera Bulbasaur (a rare variegated mutation of the Monstera deliciosa houseplant) for $25,000 from Detroit-based Rare Plant Fairy, owned by Jocelyn Ho.

The Booming Online Plant Business

Ho says the popularity of plants like the infernalis has been driven by increasing numbers of collectors who sell as part of their hobby. “There’s no guarantee that plants grown from corms will carry the same color variegation, which adds an element of risk,” Ho says. “But for collectors, that risk is part of the thrill.”

Ho also markets her plants on Palmstreet, which sells $100 million worth of plants annually, according to Malavenda. “The runner-up to the $10,000 sale was a plant that sold for $8,500 earlier this year,” she says.

Da Bui says livestream sales on the platform, paired with a loyal following, can eliminate competitors and sidestep the noise of other platforms. He launched his business in 2023, drawing on his former career as a sales director.

Gerson will also try cross-pollinating her variegated infernalis with other rare species in her collection to create new hybrids. “Tending to my plants and seeing them grow after nurturing them is the absolute best feeling in the world,” she says. “Every new leaf is a thrill and an accomplishment. Plants are my living art collection.”

Within about three years the scarcity of such plants can fade if they are widely propagated, says Shane Pliska, CEO of Planterra International, a provider of interior foliage. “It’s what happened to the Thai Constellation, a white variegated monstera,” he says. “It was all the rage in 2020, and within three years, the price collapsed as supply proliferated.”

But for now, Gerson and Da Bui, who has saved two variegated infernalis for propagation, have cornered the market.