''Chaetogastra versicolor'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Melastomataceae Melastomataceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics (two-thirds of the genera are from the New World tropics) comprising c. 175 genera and c. 5115 known species. Melastomes are annual or perennial herbs, sh ...

, native to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It was first described by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in 1827 as ''Rhexia versicolor''. One of its

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

is ''Tibouchina versicolor''. ''Chaetogastra versicolor'' has flowers with four

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s and eight

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, rather than five and ten as in many other species of ''

Chaetogastra ''Chaetogastra'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Melastomataceae. Its native range is South America and North America. It contains around 115 species. Description Species of ''Chaetogastra'' are herbs, subshrubs, shrubs or ...

''. The petals are white, turning pink as they age. The leaves are reddish underneath. File:Chaetogastra versicolor (as Rhexia versicolor) Bot. Reg. 13 t.1066.jpg, Original botanical illustration of 1827 File:Tibouchina versicolor flower.jpg, Flower

References

versicolor Flora of Brazil Plants described in 1827 {{Melastomataceae-stub