The Chinese Money Plant was first discovered in western culture by George Forester, a Scottish botanist and one of the first explorers of China's Yunnan province. It's said that he imported over 31,000 plant specimens to Scotland over numerous trips, including the Pilea peperomioides. From there, a specimen of the plant was taken to Norway by a missionary called Agnar Espegren. Cuttings were then passed around to thousands of people, leading to the Chinese Money Plants delayed identification in the 1980s and its commercial cultivation as a popular houseplant.