''Salpiglossis sinuata'', the painted tongue, scalloped tube tongue, velvet trumpet flower, palito amargo ( Spanish : ''bitter little stick'' - from the extreme bitterness of its leaves) or panza de burro ( Spanish : ''donkey's paunch'' ), is a

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 ...

belonging to the subfamily

Cestroideae Cestroideae (syn. Browallioideae) is a subfamily of the plant family Solanaceae, the nightshades. It currently contains the three tribes and seven genera, as follows: * Browallieae Hunz. ** ''Browallia'' L. ** '' Streptosolen'' (Benth.) Miers ...

of the nightshade family

Solanaceae Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

, native to southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Description

''Salpiglossis sinuata'' is an

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

or short-lived

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

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 growing to tall, rarely up 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 long, elliptic to lanceolate, with a wavy, lobed or toothed 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 have a five-lobed funnel-shaped corolla, up to long and diameter, each lobe with a notched apex, velvety in texture, either violet or orange, and have contrasting darker stripes along each petal.

Cultivation and uses

Of the two species in its genus, ''Salpiglossis sinuata'' is the more commonly grown 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 th ...

for

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s. It was introduced to the northern hemisphere in the 1820s. A number of

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 have been selected for different flower colours. It is grown in full sunlight.''RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants'' pub. Dorling Kindersley 2008 .

Gallery

File:Template Flower1.JPG, Close-up of flower of yellow-flowered cultivar of ''S. sinuata''. File:Salpiglossis sinuata (8705629035).jpg, ''S. sinuata'' : habit study and close-up of giant red-flowered form. File:Salpiglossis sinuata.jpg, ''S. sinuata'' : close-up of pale purple-flowered form. File:Salpiglossis sinuata 'Kew Blue' - Longwood Gardens - DSC01082.JPG, Growth habit of blue-flowered form "Kew Blue". File:PaintedTongue.jpeg, Bed of ''Salpiglossis sinuata'' plants with flowers of three different colours.

References

Cestroideae Flora of Chile Garden plants of South America Plants described in 1798 Taxa named by José Antonio Pavón Jiménez Taxa named by Hipólito Ruiz López {{Solanales-stub