''Jovellana punctata'', or the teacup flower, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

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 th ...

in the family

Calceolariaceae Calceolariaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that has been recently segregated from Scrophulariaceae. The family includes three genera, ''Calceolaria'', '' Porodittia'', and '' Jovellana'', but analysis suggests that th ...

. It is native to central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Taxonomy

This species is believed to have diverged from its

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

counterparts approximately 4.1Mya. It then diverged from ''

Jovellana violacea ''Jovellana violacea'', also known as the violet teacup flower or violet slipper flower, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Calceolariaceae. It is native to Chile. Taxonomy The generic epithet commemorates Gaspar Melchor ...

'' about 1.0Mya.

Description

''Jovellana punctata'' is a semi-evergreen plant that has red stems with toothed, bright green leaves. Its flowers are white, light pink or light lilac and can grow up to be 1.5m tall and can spread 0.6m. It is said to have a minty-spicy fragrance.

Cultivation

This plant can be propagated with stem tip cuttings. It prefers to grow in loamless, fertile soil under direct sunlight. It should be watered regularly. This species is said to grow well with ''

'', a closely related species.

References

Flora of Chile Lamiales {{Lamiales-stub