In choosing plants for children, keep in mind that they may be more impressed by a plant with a picturesque name or with an odd growth habit than by something that is beautiful to your eye. For example, the sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica, has miniature locustlike leaflets, and would not be cultivated except for the fact that when one of these is touched, it responds immediately by folding up tightly. The voodoo plant, or sacred lily of India, Hydrosme rivieri, sends up its carrion-scented flower spathe in the winter without accompanying foliage, and although it has a revolting odor, the plant appeals to children.

   Carnivorous, or meat-eating, plants are not the easiest to grow, but if you offer a helpful hand, your child may be successful with Dionaea muscipula, the Venus flytrap. One way to grow this plant is to pot it in humus-rich soil combined with an equal part of sphagnum moss. Place it in high humidity, as inside a miniature plastic greenhouse or other terrarium.

   Cacti and succulents are ideal plants for children. Such common names as rainbow bush (Portulacaria afra var. tricolor), velvet leaf (Kalanchoe beharensis), painted lady (Echeveria deren-bergii), crown of thorns (Euphorbia splendens), tiger jaws (Fau-caria tigrina), burro's-tail (Sedum morganianum), necklace vine (Crassula perforata), heart vine (Ciropegia woodii), old lady cactus (Mammillaria hahniana), old man cactus (Cephalocereus senilis), golden stars (Mammillaria elongata), and bishop's cap (Astrophytum myriostigma) are appealing to children and may be the beginning of a lifelong interest for them.

   Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera bridgesii, seems to be set apart in our thinking from other cacti and succulents because its culture is more like that of other house plants. It is a plant that forms flower buds only when the days are short in the fall. If it receives artificial light during the period between sundown and sunrise for any length of time in the fall, then buds may not form at the proper time, if at all. Chrysanthemums also are plants that bloom when the days are short in the fall.

   The shrimp plant, Beloperone guttata, has salmon bracts that are shaped and colored in such a way as to remind us of shrimp. It is a favorite of children and not difficult for them to grow. The pickaback plant, Tolmiea menziesii, has leaves of bright green and, as these mature, small perfectly formed new plants grow on top of each. Wax, angel-wing, and beefsteak (rhizoma-tous) begonias are good choices for a child's indoor garden. Since coleus roots easily from cuttings placed either in water or in moist soil, it will provide plenty of material with which a child may experiment to learn how plants can be increased vegetatively.