Acanthaceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in temperate regions. The four main centres of distribution are Indonesia and Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Representatives of the family can be found in nearly every habitat, including dense or open forests, scrublands, wet fields and valleys, sea coast and marine areas, swamps, and mangrove forests.
Perilla frutescensvar.crispa, also known by its Japanese name shiso, is a cultigen of Perilla frutescens, a herb in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to the mountainous regions of China and India, but is now found worldwide. The plant occurs in several forms, as defined by the characteristics of their leaves, including red, green, bicolor, and ruffled. Shiso is perennial and may be cultivated as an annual in temperate climates. Different parts of the plant are used in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine.
Strobilanthes is a genus of about 350 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, mostly native to tropical Asia and Madagascar, but with a few species extending north into temperate regions of Asia. Many species are cultivated for their two-lipped, hooded flowers in shades of blue, pink, white and purple. Most are frost-tender and require protection in frost-prone areas.
Cinnamomum tamala, Indian bay leaf, also known as tejpat, tezapatta,Malabar leaf, Indian bark, Indian cassia, or malabathrum, is a tree in the family Lauraceae that is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. It can grow up to 20 m (66 ft) tall. Its leaves have a clove-like aroma with a hint of peppery taste; they are used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is thought to have been one of the major sources of the medicinal plant leaves known in classic and medieval times as malabathrum.
Euphorbia tithymaloides is a perennial succulent spurge. An erect shrub, the plant is also known by the scientific name Pedilanthus tithymaloides. However, the genus Pedilanthus has been submerged into the genus Euphorbia, and is more correctly known by its new name.
Monocarpic plants are those that flower, set seeds and then die.
Acanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean Basin and Asia. This flowering plant is nectar producing and is susceptible to predation by butterflies, such as Anartia fatima, and other nectar feeding organisms. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches. The generic name derives from the Greek term ἄκανθος (akanthos) for Acanthus mollis, a plant that was commonly imitated in Corinthian capitals.
Strobilanthes kunthiana, known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Tamil, is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri Hills, which literally means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that blossoms only once in 12 years. Of all long interval bloomers Strobilanthes kunthiana is the most rigorously demonstrated, with documented bloomings in 1838, 1850, 1862, 1874, 1886, 1898, 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 and 2018, these have no match to Solar cycles.
Ruellia is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as ruellias or wild petunias. They are not closely related to petunias (Petunia) although both genera belong to the same euasterid clade. The genus was named in honor of Jean Ruelle, herbalist and physician to Francis I of France and translator of several works of Dioscorides.
Plietesials are plants that grow for a number of years, flower gregariously (synchronously), set seed and then die. The length of the cycle can vary between 8 and 16 years. For example, the neelakurinji plant flowers every 12 years and bloomed as expected in 2006 in the Munnar region of Kerala, India.
Ardisia elliptica is an evergreen tree, also known as the shoebutton ardisia, duck's eye and coralberry, native to the west coast of India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Guinea. It is a prolific reproducer which has made it a successful invasive species in other locations in the tropics where it has been introduced as a garden ornamental.
Andrographis paniculata, commonly known as creat or green chiretta, is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka.
Strobilanthes callosa Nees (Synonym: Carvia callosa Bremek) is a shrub found mainly in the low hills of the western ghats all along the west coast of India. Its standardized Hindi language name is maruadona (मरुआदोना) by which it is called in the state of Madhya Pradesh where it is also found. In the state of Maharashtra in the Marathi language and other local dialects and in the neighboring state of Karnataka the shrub is locally known as karvi, sometimes spelled in English as karvy.
Sibiricine is a bioactive isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from Corydalis crispa (Fumariaceae), which is a Bhutanese medicinal plant from the Himalayas.
Zingiber spectabile is a species of true ginger, native to Maritime Southeast Asia. It is primarily grown in the West as an ornamental plant, although it has been used in South-East Asia as a medicinal herb.
Strobilanthes japonica is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant from Asia, one of around 350 plants of the genus Strobilanthes. The 20–50 cm ornamental plant is cultivated in Japan and China, and blooms in autumn with 1.5 cm purple to white funnel-shaped flowers.
Melanthera biflora, also known as sea daisy, beach daisy and sea ox-eye,, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family. It is a scandent, rough-looking and fast-growing plant with a wide distribution.
Perilla is a genus consisting of one major Asiatic crop species Perilla frutescens and a few wild species in nature belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus encompasses several distinct varieties of Asian herb, seed, and vegetable crop, including P. frutescens (deulkkae) and P. frutescens var. crispa (shiso). The genus name Perilla is also a frequently employed common name ("perilla"), applicable to all varieties. Perilla varieties are cross-fertile and intra-specific hybridization occurs naturally. Some varieties are considered invasive.
Strobilanthes alternata, may be known as red ivy, red-flame ivy, or waffle plant, is a member of the family Acanthaceae native to Java. It is a prostrate plant with purple colored leaves.
Strobilanthes integrifolius is a species of plant belongs to the genus Strobilanthes of the family Acanthaceae. Commonly called the "Thottukurinji", found in the Western Ghats in South Indian regions like Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Especially the flower plant originally illustrated by Dalz., And was given the exact name of Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze the Strobilanthes integrifolius.
