''Ceratostigma'' (;), or leadwort, plumbago, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of eight species of

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 t ...

s in the family

Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial herbaceous plants, but a few grow ...

, native to warm

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions of Africa and Asia. Common names are shared with the genus ''

Plumbago ''Plumbago'' is a genus of 10–20 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus ''Cerato ...

''.

Description

''Ceratostigma'' species are flowering

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

s, subshrubs, or small

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s growing to tall. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are spirally arranged, simple, 1–9 cm long, usually with a hairy margin. Some of the species are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, others

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s are produced in a compact

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

, each flower with a five-lobed

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name *Corolla (headgear) A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown.fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

is a small bristly capsule containing a single

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

Selected species

*''

Ceratostigma abyssinicum ''Ceratostigma'' (;), or leadwort, plumbago, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Common names are shared with the genus ''Plumbago''. ...

'' (Hochst.) Schwein. & Asch. *''

Ceratostigma griffithii ''Ceratostigma'' (;), or leadwort, plumbago, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Common names are shared with the genus ''Plumbago''. ...

'' C.B.Clarke *''

Ceratostigma minus ''Ceratostigma'' (;), or leadwort, plumbago, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Common names are shared with the genus ''Plumbago''. ...

'' Stapf ex Prain *''

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides ''Ceratostigma plumbaginoides'' (蓝雪花), the hardy blue-flowered leadwort, is a species of flowering plant in the plumbago family, native to Western China (Beijing Shi, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanxi, Zhejiang), where it is usually found in rocky fo ...

'' (Bunge) *''

Ceratostigma ulicinum ''Ceratostigma'' (;), or leadwort, plumbago, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Common names are shared with the genus ''Plumbago''. ...

'' Prain *''

Ceratostigma willmottianum ''Ceratostigma willmottianum'', Chinese plumbago, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae that is native to western China and Tibet. It is an ornamental deciduous shrub that grows to 1 metre in height, with pale blue plumbago ...

'' Stapf

Cultivation and uses

Plants of this genus are valued in the garden for their late summer flower colour and their autumn leaf colour. The following varieties have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

(confirmed 2017): *''C. plumbaginoides'' *''C. willmottianum'' *''C. willmottianum'' ='Lice'

Notes

References

Sources

Flora of China: ''Ceratostigma''
* Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan. Caryophyllales genera Taxa named by Alexander von Bunge {{Caryophyllales-stub