Calibrachoa | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Solanales |
Family: | Solanaceae |
Subfamily: | Petunioideae |
Genus: | Calibrachoa Cerv. |
Species | |
See text |
Calibrachoa is a genus of plants in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. They are evergreen short-lived perennials and subshrubs with a sprawling habit, with small petunia-type flowers. They are found across much the same region of South America as petunias, from southern Brazil across to Peru and Chile, inhabiting scrub and open grassland. [1]
Calibrachoa are closely related to Petunia. However, on further examination it has been found that there are major differences in chromosomes, corresponding to external differences and fertilization factors that distinguished the two genera. Petchoa is a hybrid genus derived from crossing the genetically similar Calibrachoa and Petunia. [2]
Calibrachoa was named by Vicente Cervantes after Antonio de la Cal y Bracho, [3] a 19th-century Mexican botanist and pharmacologist.
Calibrachoa are small shrubs or herbaceous plants with woody shoot axis that grow annual or perennial. The leaves are ovate, elliptic, reverse ovate or linear; its edge is flat or rolled back. The inflorescences are monochasial and have oppositely standing, foliage-like bracts. The flowers are usually zygomorphic, the bud cover is reciprocal in most species, the only exception is Calibrachoa pygmaea in both cases. The calyx has five or ten ribs, it is usually lobed to about the middle, the lobes are usually narrowed towards the top. The crown is funnel-shaped, but in Calibrachoa pygmaea it is salver-shaped, bulbous and tapered towards the tip. The color of the crown can be purple, red, pink or whitish. [4]
The fruits are capsules. The seeds have a net-like surface. This structure is due to walls perpendicular to the seed surface, which are straight in all species. [5]
28 species, including: [6]
Some Calibrachoa are cultivated as ornamental plants, popularly known as "Million Bells". The plants can tolerate light frost and thrive in sun or semi-shade. Plant in a free-draining soil and water only when the soil is almost dry. They can be propagated from tip cuttings, but are frequently grown as half-hardy annuals. They are suitable for container gardening and hanging baskets and will attract hummingbirds.
The following cultivars are recipients of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
Geranium is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the greatest diversity in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.
Nicotiana is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the family Solanaceae, that is indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various Nicotiana species, commonly referred to as tobacco plants, are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. N. tabacum is grown worldwide for the cultivation of tobacco leaves used for manufacturing and producing tobacco products, including cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, snuff, and snus.
Petunia is a genus of 20 species of flowering plants of South American origin. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word pétun, 'tobacco', from a Tupi–Guarani language. A tender perennial, most of the varieties seen in gardens are hybrids.
Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to south-central and southeast China, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Asia, both in the east and the west. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the rose of Sharon,, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea, and rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem.
Impatiens walleriana, also known as busy Lizzie, balsam, sultana, or simply impatiens, is a species of the genus Impatiens, native to eastern Africa from Kenya to Mozambique. The Latin specific epithet walleriana honours a British missionary, Horace Waller (1833–1896).
Helianthemum, known as rock rose, sunrose, rushrose, or frostweed, is a genus of about 110 species of flowering plants in the family Cistaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the Mediterranean.
Tradescantia zebrina, formerly known as Zebrina pendula, is a species of creeping plant in the Tradescantia genus. Common names include silver inch plant and wandering Jew. The latter name is controversial, and some now use the alternative wandering dude. The plant is popular in cultivation due to its fast growth and attractive foliage. It is used as a groundcover in warm winter climates, and as a houseplant elsewhere.
Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, is a medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to the Americas. The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as ornamental plants in temperate climate gardens.
Mertensia virginica is a spring ephemeral plant in the Boraginaceae (borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.
Cobaea scandens, the cup-and-saucer vine, cathedral bells, Mexican ivy, or monastery bells, is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family Polemoniaceae. It is native to Mexico, with isolated sightings elsewhere in tropical central and South America.
Matthiola incana is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Common names include Brompton stock, common stock, hoary stock, ten-week stock, and gilly-flower. The common name stock usually refers to this species, though it may also be applied to the whole genus Matthiola. The common name "night-scented stock" or "evening-scented stock" is applied to Matthiola longipetala.
Phlox divaricata, the wild blue phlox, woodland phlox, or wild sweet william, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to forests and fields in eastern North America.
Coleus scutellarioides, commonly known as coleus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southeast Asia through to Australia. Typically growing to 60–75 cm (24–30 in) tall and wide, it is a bushy, woody-based evergreen perennial, widely grown for the highly decorative variegated leaves found in cultivated varieties. Another common name is painted nettle, reflecting its relationship to deadnettles, which are in the same family. The synonyms Coleus blumei, Plectranthus scutellarioides and Solenostemon scutellarioides are also widely used for this species.
Fabiana imbricata, vernacular names pichi or false heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to dry upland slopes in the foothills of the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina. Growing to 2.5 m tall and wide, it is a frost-hardy, heath-like evergreen mound-forming shrub. It has needle-like leaves and small white, tubular flowers in early summer.
Lathyrus vernus, the spring vetchling, spring pea, or spring vetch, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Lathyrus, native to forests of Europe and Siberia. It forms a dense clump of pointed leaves with purple flowers in spring, shading to a greenish-blue with age.
Campanula punctata, the spotted bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This ornamental herbaceous perennial is native to Japan, Korea, China and Siberia, and is widely cultivated for its attractive bell-shaped flowers.
Thymus pulegioides, common names broad-leaved thyme or lemon thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe. Growing to 5–25 cm (2–10 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide, it is a small spreading subshrub with strongly aromatic leaves, and lilac pink flowers in early summer. The specific epithet pulegioides highlights its similarity to another species within Lamiaceae, Mentha pulegium (pennyroyal).
Petunia × atkinsiana is a Petunia plant "nothospecies" (hybrid), which encompasses all hybrid species of petunia between P. axillaris and P. integrifolia. Most of the petunias sold for cultivation in home gardens are this type and belong to this nothospecies.
The Solanaceae, or the nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.
Petunioideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Solanaceae, the nightshades. It contains thirteen genera, as follows: