''Medinilla speciosa'' 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 ...

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

plant in the genus ''

Medinilla ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' of 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 ...

Etymology

''Medinilla'' is named for José de Medinilla y Pineda, who was governor of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

(then known as the Marianne Islands) in 1820.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp. 253

Description

''Medinilla speciosa'' reaches on average a height of . This

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, which ...

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 trees ...

has woody branched stems and opposite leathery green

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

(up to long and wide, with prominent veins. The dainty small

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 mechani ...

s are bright pink-colored and are produced in large

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s on pendant reddish stems. The flowering period extends from early Summer to Fall. When the blooming is finished for about a month remains a raceme of showy berries, pending that the plant reflowers. These rounded fruits are at first pink and purple-blue when ripe (hence the common name of ''Showy Asian Grapes''. The plant is utilized as a traditional medicine, by boiling, brewing, or consuming it directly. The fruits are consumed by pregnant women as health supplement and also used as diarrhea, mouth sores, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antibacterial treatment.

Distribution

This plant occurs naturally in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

and

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In Borneo, the plant can be found at the Kinabalu in the Malaysian part of the island. Its distribution includes peninsular Malaysia (Penang, Perak, Pahang, Selangor), Java, Sumatra, Lesser Sunda Isl. (Sumbawa, Lombok), Sulawesi, Moluccas and BorneoHassler M. (2020). World Plants: World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World (version Nov 2018), http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/details/species/id/201f3bb181a80f9acc12dd7f37c7e21e

Habitat

This species is typical of the mountain forests and prefers shaded areas and moist soils, at elevations between and above sea level.

Gallery

File:Medinilla speciosa2.jpg, Plant of ''Medinilla speciosa'' File:Medinilla speciosa1.jpg, Flowers of ''Medinilla speciosa'' File:Melastomataceae - Medinilla speciosa.JPG, Blossoms and leaves of ''Medinilla speciosa'' File:Melastomataceae - Medinilla speciosa-1.JPG, Blossoms of ''Medinilla speciosa''

References

External links

Biolib

speciosa Speciosa (foaled 28 April 2003) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which lasted from June 2005 and October 2007 she ran seventeen times and won four races. As a two-year-old, she won two of her six race ...

Flora of the Philippines {{Melastomataceae-stub