Flickr - brewbooks - Plumbago auriculata

''Plumbago auriculata'', the cape leadwort, blue plumbago or Cape plumbago, 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 Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Plumbaginaceae,

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to South Africa."Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p 691. Könemann, 2004. Nico Vermeulen:"The Complete Encyclopedia of Container Plants", p. 216. Rebo International, Netherlands, 1998. The specific epithet ''auriculata'' means "with ears", referring to the shape of the leaves.

Description

''Plumbago auriculata'' is an

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 ...

shrub, often grown as a climber, ascending rapidly to tall by wide in nature, though much smaller when cultivated as a

houseplant A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

. The leaves are a glossy green and grow to long. The stems are long, thin, and climbing. The leaves alternate and are 2–5 cm. The five petals are about 2 cm wide and can be pale blue, blue or violet in color. There also variations with white (''P. auriculata'' var. ''alba'') or deep blue (''P. auriculata'' 'Royal Cape') flowers. The flowers are arranged in a

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial ...

-like and raceme inflorescence. The flower of this plant is complete and bisexual. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s and petals are connate while the pistil is

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are ...

. The ovary of the flower is superior and the flower has regular symmetry. It has basal placentation, with 1 locule and 5 carpels. It flowers mostly in the summer, but in the right conditions it can bloom year-round.

Distribution

Native to South Africa, it extends from the

Southern Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

region to Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It can also be found in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

and the adjoining areas of Free State and the

North West Province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

. There is also an isolated occurrence in Mpumalanga. Typically the species grows in bushes or thickets. As an ornamental plant, it is widespread today in the tropics and subtropics (including the Mediterranean region).

Biology

It is visited by various butterflies. Their leaves serve as food for the caterpillar of

Hummingbird hawk-moth The hummingbird hawk-moth (''Macroglossum stellatarum'') is a species of hawk moth found across temperate regions of Eurasia. The species is named for its similarity to hummingbirds, as they feed on the nectar of tube-shaped flowers using thei ...

. Conversely, the sticky sepals sometimes catch animals up to the size of a housefly. It is believed that the plumbago species living today are very similar to the first ancestors of

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginou ...

and other carnivorous plants.

Phytochemistry

Many secondary metabolites have been discovered and isolated from ''Plumbago auriculata'' such as plumbagin and palmitic acids.

Cultivation

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 ...

regions it may be grown outside in frost free areas, otherwise under glass. It grows best in full sun to part shade. The species and the white-flowered form ''P. auriculata'' f. ''alba'' have both 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 ...

's Award of Garden Merit. ''Plumbago auriculata'' can be propagated sexually by seeds and asexually by cutting in summer. It needs well-aerated soil and light and prefers acidic soil.

Gallery

Plumbago ovary parts 2019 .jpg, Ovary parts Plumnago style.jpeg, Style Plumabgo sepals parts.JPG, Sepals Bleiwurz_Plumbago_auriculata_2007-06-16_386.jpg, Flowers Plant.6389.JPG, Shrubby growth Azulina - Bellaemilia (Plumbago auriculata) - Flickr - Alejandro Bayer.jpg, Shrub at urban woodland Catalonia PlumbagoAuriculata.JPG, Vigorous shrub in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Plumbago auriculata (Blue-flowered Plumbago) in Hyderabad W IMG 8894.jpg, Seaside shrub in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

Flowers of plumbago auriculata and lagerstroemia indica in Kitano-cho, Kobe.jpg, Growing on a fence in Kobe Plant.6389.JPG, Flowering shrub in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q263162 auriculata Carnivorous plants of Africa Flora of South Africa