''Asystasia gangetica'' is a species of plant in the family

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in ...

. It is commonly known as the Chinese violet, coromandelPlants of Hawaii: ''Asystasia gangetica'': http://www.hear.org/starr/images/species/?q=asystasia+gangetica&o=plants, retrieved 28 July 2010 or creeping foxglove.South African National Biodiversity Institute: ''Asystasia gangetica'': http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/asystasiagan.htm, retrieved 28 July 2010 In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

this plant may simply be called asystasia.Pooley, E. (1998). ''A Field Guide to Wild Flowers; KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region''. .

Description

This plant is a spreading

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

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

, reaching 600 mm in height or up to 1 m if supported.Weed Identification, Australia: http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=&ibra=all&card=H34 , retrieved 28 July 2010. The stems root easily at the nodes. The leaves are simple and opposite. The fruit is an explosive capsule which starts out green in colour, but dries to brown after opening.

Subspecies

* ''A. g. gangetica'', has larger (30–40 mm long) blue or mauve flowers. * ''A. g. micrantha'' (Nees) Ensermu, has smaller (up to 25 mm long.) white flowers with purple markings on the lower lip.

Distribution

Widespread throughout the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by th ...

Tropics 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 ...

, and introduced into tropical Americas and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, where it has become naturalized. Both subspecies of this plant have been introduced to Australia where ''A. g. micrantha'' is on the National Environmental Alert List and must be reported when found. The original range of the subspecies is unclear, but it is likely that ''A. g. gangetica'' was limited to Asia, and ''A. g. micrantha'' was limited to Africa.

Reproduction

Ernest Akamine (1947) found that there were no apparent dormancy mechanisms operating in the seeds, which germinated freely 135 days after being expelled from parent plants. Flower production can begin as early as 40 days after germination, with seed development beginning after 57 days, facilitating the production of viable seed in as little as 72 days. The seeds are then expelled explosively upon ripening via hooked retinacula (pictured). File:Asystasia gangetica seed head.jpg, ''Asystasia gangetica'' seed head

Uses

In some parts of Africa, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable and used as an herbal remedy in

traditional African medicine Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving indigenous herbalism and African spirituality, typically including diviners, midwives, and herbalists. Practitioners of traditional African medicine claim to ...

.Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen. The leaves are used in many parts of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

as a

for the management of

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...

. It is also used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

Ecological significance

This is an important plant for

honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cos ...

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises t ...

and other insects. In

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...

there are at least seven species of butterfly and moth that use ''A. g. micrantha'' as a larval foodplant; '' Junonia oenone'', '' Junonia hierta'', '' Junonia natalica'', '' Junonia terea'', '' Protogoniomorpha parhassus'', ''

Hypolimnas misippus ''Hypolimnas misippus'', the Danaid eggfly, mimic, or diadem, is a widespread species of nymphalid butterfly. It is well known for polymorphism and mimicry. Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blue. Females are in ...

'' and '' Microplexia costimaculalis''.Guillermet, 2005. ''Les Hétérocères ou papillons de nuit, de l'île de La Réunion. Volume 1''. Famille des Noctuidae Quadrifides. - — :1–532, pls. 1–13. The vigorous growth of ''A. g. micrantha'' in tropical regions makes it a weed which can smother certain

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention * Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band * Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehor ...

vegetation where it has been introduced.

Gallery

File:Asystasia_gangetica_12_05_2010.JPG, From Amanzimtoti, South Africa. File:Asystasia gangetica in Hyderabad W IMG_4773.jpg, From Hyderabad, India. File:Asystasia gangetica in Hyderabad W IMG 4774.jpg, From Hyderabad, India. File:Ara Songsang 2.jpg, Found in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

File:Ara Songsang.jpg, ''Asystasia gangetica'' in

File:Asystasia gangetica (Chinese Violet) Anna Bay, NSW, Australia.jpg, ''Asystasia gangetica'' Anna Bay, NSW, Australia File:Asystasia gangetica Gold Coast.jpg, ''Asystasia gangetica'' smothering rainforest understory. Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

References

External links

PROTAbase on ''Asystasia gangetica''''Asystasia gangetica''
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q311451 gangetica Medicinal plants of Asia Plants used in traditional African medicine Plants described in 1756