Strobilanthes
EOL Text
Herbs or small shrubs. Leaves opposite, sometimes markedly different, entire or toothed. Flowers solitary in axils or borne in spikes or panicles. Calyx deeply divided into narrow segments. Corolla narrow below, broader above, with a 5-lobed limb, the lobes sometimes unequal but the corolla not 2-lipped. Fertile stamens 4 or sometimes 2 with 2 staminodes. Bracts small and inconspicuous. Ovules 2 per loculus. Capsule oblong or linear.
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| Rights holder/Author | Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings, Flora of Zimbabwe |
| Source | http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/genus.php?genus_id=1607 |
Strobilanthes is a genus of about 350 species[1] of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, mostly native to tropical Asia and Madagascar, but with a few species extending north into temperate regions of Asia. Many species are cultivated for their 2-lipped, hooded flowers in shades of blue, pink, white and purple. Most are frost-tender and require protection in frost-prone areas.[2]
- Selected species
Strobilanthes dyerianus (cultivated)
Strobilanthes atropurpureus is a temperate species, native to eastern Siberia; it is cultivated for its purple flowers.
Strobilanthes dyeriana (Persian shield) is a tropical plant native to Myanmar. It is grown for its dark green foliage with bright, metallic-purple stripes radiating outward from the central leaf vein. In proper conditions, it will also produce pale purple flowers. Persian Shield grows best outdoors in USDA zones 9 and 10, although it can survive in other zones as a houseplant given sufficient temperature, soil moisture and humidity. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3]
Strobilanthes species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita malabaracus, which has been recorded on S. callosus.
References[edit]
- ^ Moylan, Elizabeth C.; Bennett, Jonathan R.; Carine, Mark A.; Olmstead, Richard G.; Scotland, Robert W. (2004). "Phylogenetic relationships among Strobilanthes s.l. (Acanthaceae): evidence from ITS nrDNA, trnL-F cpDNA, and morphology". American Journal of Botany (American Journal of Botany, Inc.) 91 (5): 724–735. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Strobilanthes dyeriana". Retrieved 5 July 2013.
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| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
| Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strobilanthes&oldid=605298942 |