*Sorry, but no pictures exist of my previous one, and I have not gathered the materials for my new ones yet*

I like vivariums, but lack sufficient space for a large one. Years ago I took a large 4 litre coffee jar made of clear glass, placed rocks on the bottom, covered by sand, then a few inches of soil, planted an ivy in there, watered it, and put a lid on it. It started to die in the middle of last year, after over three years of existence in a closed habitat where it recycled its own water and air for the whole time.
Having a plant in a jar for that long got me interested in vivariums.

I am now going to try making three vivariums for an experiment (and decoration), each with the same plant, but slightly different conditions (soil and initial water amount) to mimic different regions.

The question is, what plants do I use? I need a plant that can live in mostly shady conditions, but does not die if in the sun. As well, it needs to require water regularly (not be a cactus), not have flowers, and be less than 1 foot tall. The ivy I used before would be fine, but I want something different.

I only post this here because I will remember to post an update of my plant's growth progress; if I post at some odd gardening site I'll forget to return.

Anyway, the point of the experiment is so I can choose the ideal conditions for a small desktop vivarium that anyone can make.