Ceratostigma willmottianum

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Ceratostigma willmottianum
Ceratostigma willmottianum kz1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Plumbaginaceae
Genus: Ceratostigma
Species:
C. willmottianum
Binomial name
Ceratostigma willmottianum

Ceratostigma willmottianum, Chinese plumbago, [1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae that is native to western China and Tibet. [2] It is an ornamental deciduous shrub that grows to 1 metre in height, with pale blue plumbago-like flowers appearing in autumn as the leaves start to turn red. [3]

Contents

Description

It is a small shrub that develops a rhizome as a perennial organ and reaches heights of up to 2 meters. The small, pointed leaves are densely hairy and are shed every year.

There are three to seven flowers in an inflorescence. The hermaphrodite flowers have five petals. The five petals are fused together in a tube. The corolla tube is purple and the corolla lobes are bright blue. Capsule fruits measuring around 6 mm with black seeds are formed.

Distribution

This species is native to East Asia and the Himalayas (Chinese provinces: Gansu, western Guizhou, southern and western Sichuan, southeastern Xizang, eastern and northern Yunnan). It grows in warm valleys at altitudes between 700 and 3500 m above sea level.

Etymology

Ceratostigma is derived from Greek, meaning 'horned stigma'. This is in reference to the 'shape of the stigmatic surface'. [4]

The specific epithet willmottianum was named for Miss Ellen Ann Willmott (1858-1934), a keen gardener and plant introducer from Warley Place, Essex, UK. [4]

Cultivation

Ceratostigma willmottianum is cultivated as a garden plant, valued for its late season red leaves and rich blue flowers. Both the species [1] and the cultivar Forest Blue ('Lice') [5] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [6] There is also a cultivar with yellow foliage, Desert Skies ('Palmgold'). [7]

References

  1. 1 2 "RHS Plantfinder - Ceratostigma willmottianum" . Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "Ceratostigma willmottianum Stapf". The Plant List (published on the internet). 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Kristo Pienaar (1 August 2003). South African 'What Flower Is That'?. Struik. pp. 81–. ISBN   978-1-86872-441-3 . Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN   9780521685535 (paperback). pp 99, 407
  5. ↑ "RHS Plantfinder - Ceratostigma willmottianumForest Blue = 'Lice'" . Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 17. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ceratostigma willmottianum Desert Skies ('Palmgold')". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 15 October 2021.


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