''Plumbago'' is a genus of 23 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial plant, perennial h ...

, native to warm

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus ''

Ceratostigma ''Ceratostigma'' (;), or leadwort, plumbago, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Common names are shared with the genus ''Plumbago''. De ...

'').

Description

The species include

herbaceous plant 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 o ...

s and

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

s growing to tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are spirally arranged, simple, entire, long, with a tapered base and often with a hairy margin. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are white, blue, purple, red, or pink, with a tubular corolla with five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

-like lobes; they are produced in

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s. The flower

calyx CALYX, Inc. is a non-profit publisher of art and literature by women founded in 1976 based in Corvallis, Oregon. CALYX publishes both '' CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women'' twice a year and CALYX Books, which publishes one to three ...

has glandular

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

s (hairs), which secrete a sticky

mucilage Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

that is capable of trapping and killing

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s; it is unclear what the purpose of these trichomes is; protection from

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

by way of "crawlers" (

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s and other insects that typically do not transfer pollen between individual plants), or possible protocarnivory. Mature plumbago leaves often have a whitish residue on their undersides, a feature that can confuse gardeners. While this white material resembles a

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungus, fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of Ascomycota, ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant disea ...

disease or a chemical spray deposit, it is actually a natural exudate from "chalk" glands that are found on the ''Plumbago'' species.

Taxonomy

The generic name, derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

words ''plumbum'' ("

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

") and ''agere'' ("to resemble"), was first used by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

(23-79) for a plant known as (''molybdaina'') to

Pedanius Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic pharmacopeia on he ...

(ca. 40-90). This may have referred to its lead-blue flower colour, the ability of the sap to create lead-colored stains on skin, or Pliny's belief that the plant was a cure for

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and paresthesia, t ...

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts 23 species. , , Southwestern Angola, Namibia, and the Cape Provinces of South Africa , - , , , '' Plumbago amplexicaulis'' , , Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique , - , Plumbagoaphylla

, , '' Plumbago aphylla'' , , Madagascar, Tanzania (Mbudya Island), Aldabra, Europa Island , - , Dyerophytum indicum kz02

, , ''

Plumbago arabica ''Plumbago arabica'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Plumbago''. It is a subshrub native to western and central India and to Oman and the United Arab Emirates in the southeastern Arabian Peninsula, where it grows in deserts and dry ...

'' } , , Eastern Arabian Peninsula and western and central India , - , , , ''

Plumbago auriculata ''Plumbago auriculata'', the Cape leadwort, blue plumbago or Cape plumbago, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Plumbaginaceae, native plant, native to South Africa and Mozambique."Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 1 ...

'' , , Mozambique and South Africa , - , , , ''

Plumbago caerulea ''Plumbago caerulea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is native to South America. References caerulea ''Caerulea'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small genus with only two sp ...

'' , , Northwestern Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, northern and central Chile, and northern Argentina , - , , , ''

Plumbago ciliata ''Plumbago'' is a genus of 23 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus ''Ceratostigm ...

'' , , Southern Tanzania , - , , , '' Plumbago dawei'' , , Southwestern Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Madagascar , - , , , ''

Plumbago europaea ''Plumbago europaea'', also known as the common leadwort, is a plant species in the genus ''Plumbago'' found in the Mediterranean Basin and Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turk ...

'' , , Mediterranean to Iraq, Iran, Caucasus, and Turkmenistan , - , , , '' Plumbago glandulicaulis'' , , Northern Tanzania , - , , , '' Plumbago hunsbergensis'' } , , Namibia , - , Plumbago indica 112

, , '' Plumbago indica'' , , Indian subcontinent, Indochina, south-central China, Hainan, Philippines, Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi , - , , , '' Plumbago ituriensis'' } , , Democratic Republic of the Congo , - , , , '' Plumbago madagascariensis'' , , Madagascar , - , , , '' Plumbago montis-elgonis'' , , Southwestern Ethiopia, Kenya, and northwestern Tanzania , - , , , '' Plumbago pearsonii'' , , Namibia (Naukluft Mountains) , - , , , '' Plumbago pendula'' , , North-central Socotra , - , , , ''

Plumbago pulchella ''Plumbago pulchella'' is a species of flowering plant in the Plumbaginaceae family. It is referred to by the common name cola de iguana.Plumbago socotrana'' , , Socotra , - , , , '' Plumbago stenophylla'' , , Southeastern Kenya , - , Plumbago tristis 1DS-II 3-6044

, , '' Plumbago tristis'' , , Southwestern Cape Provinces (South Africa) , - , Plumbago wissii 1DS-II 1-C5622

, , ''

Plumbago wissii ''Plumbago wissii'' is a species of plant in the family Plumbaginaceae endemic to Namibia. Its natural habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the surv ...

'' , , Namibia (Brandberg) , - , Plumbago zeylanica 5Dsr 1-1656

, , '' Plumbago zeylanica'' , , Tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Malesia, New Guinea, and northern and eastern Australia , -

Description

Taxonomy

Species

See also