''Alternanthera brasiliana'' var. ''villosa'', known as little ruby and ruby leaf alternanthera, is a fast-growing

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the ...

plant in the amaranth family. It ranges from southeastern Mexico to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina. It was first described as ''Telanthera brasiliana'' var. ''villosa'' in 1849 by

Alfred Moquin-Tandon Christian Horace Benedict Alfred Moquin-Tandon (7 May 1804 – 15 April 1863) was a French Natural history, naturalist and doctor. Moquin-Tandon was professor of zoology at Marseille from 1829 until 1833, when he was appointed professor of botany ...

. It is known by many synonyms, including ''Alternanthera dentata'', described by Stuchlík and

Robert Elias Fries (Klas) Robert Elias Fries (11 July 1876, Uppsala – 29 January 1966, Stockholm), the youngest son of Theodor Magnus Fries (1832–1913) and grandson of Elias Magnus Fries (1794–1878) and an expert on mushrooms. A Swedish botanist who was a m ...

in 1913. The plant is chiefly grown for its coloured foliage. It is similar in appearance to ''

Alternanthera bettzickiana ''Alternanthera bettzickiana'', commonly known as calico-plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is commonly used as an ornamental edging plant. Native to South America, its cultivar 'Red' is similar in appearance ...

'', and both have some strikingly similar looking

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s.Stuchlík J., 1913-09-01Generis Gomphrenae species exclusae.

Description

Growing 60 to 80 cm, the

herbaceous 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 of ...

plant features

burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

-coloured, pointed foliage with a radiant

ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

red rearwards and it has a compact, mounding and spreading habit. The popular cultivar 'Little Ruby' is shorter and slightly less brownish in colour, in addition to having smaller leaves as well. The plant features dark

creamy Creamy were a Danish teen-pop duo, composed of Rebekka Mathew and Rannva Joensen. Their 1999 debut album, ''Creamy'', was recorded when the pair were just thirteen years of age, and composed of euro-pop versions of children's songs. In 2001, ...

pompom A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material. The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as ...

-like flowers, which bloom in winter and early spring.

Cultivation

Suited for pots, it may be used as a

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

and as a contrasting plant to the more lighter foliage in the garden. Thriving in humid conditions and has heat tolerance, the plant does best in well drained soil under a full sun to partial shade, with somewhat shaded

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

-free location in the garden.Little Ruby™ Alternanthera dentata ‘LRU30’
/ref> The plant can easily be propagated by stem cuttings and would root readily in plain water.

Gallery

File:Alternanthera dentata 'Brazilian Red Hots'.jpg, 'Brazilian Red Hots' cultivar File:Alternanthera dentata little ruby-1-yercaud-salem-India.JPG, 'Little Ruby' cultivar in India File:Alternanthera dentata.jpg, 'Brazilian Red Hots' cultivar with bright pink colours File:Dentatacontainers.jpg, 'Little Ruby' placed in containers File:Dentatagarden.jpg, Group of Little Rubies in a home garden File:Dentata hedge.jpg, As a hedge near a walkway

References

External links

Alternanthera Dentata
by

Burke's Backyard ''Burke's Backyard'' was an Australian gardening and lifestyle series presented by horticulturist Don Burke, broadcast on both radio and television. On television, it was a regular weekly series on the Nine Network from 12 September 1987 to 26 ...

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q125331647, from2=Q17241719 brasiliana var. villosa Ornamental plants Garden plants Flora of Bolivia Flora of Brazil Flora of Colombia Flora of Ecuador Flora of Guatemala Flora of Nicaragua Flora of Paraguay Flora of Peru Flora of Southeastern Mexico Flora without expected TNC conservation status Plants described in 1849 Taxa named by Alfred Moquin-Tandon