Flickr - brewbooks - Plumbago auriculata

''Plumbago auriculata'', the cape leadwort, blue plumbago or Cape plumbago, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae, native 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 In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''auriculata'' means "with ears", referring to the shape of the leaves.

Description

''Plumbago auriculata'' is an evergreen

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 ...

, often grown as a climber, ascending rapidly to tall by wide in nature, though much smaller when cultivated as a houseplant. 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-like and raceme inflorescence. The flower of this plant is complete and

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

. The sepals and petals are connate while the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

is adnate. The

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

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 region to

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

and

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

. It can also be found in Gauteng and the adjoining areas of Free State and the North West Province. There is also an isolated occurrence in

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. 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. 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 and other

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...

Phytochemistry

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

Cultivation

In temperate 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's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The 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 Plumbago auriculata (Blue-flowered Plumbago) in Hyderabad W IMG 8894.jpg, Seaside shrub in Hyderabad Flowers of plumbago auriculata and lagerstroemia indica in Kitano-cho, Kobe.jpg, Growing on a fence in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Plant.6389.JPG, Flowering shrub in Tuscany

References

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