Strobilanthes japonica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Strobilanthes japonica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Acanthaceae |
| Genus: | Strobilanthes |
| Species: | S. japonica |
| Binomial name | |
| Strobilanthes japonica (Thunberg) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Acanthopale japonica (Thunberg) C. B. Clarke ex S. Moore | |
Strobilanthes japonica is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant from Asia,[1][2] one of around 350 plants of the genus Strobilanthes.[3] 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.[1][2]
Strobilanthes japonica grows 20–50 cm in height, with thin, heavily-branching stems and purplish-red glabrous (smooth) branchlets.[1] Its leaves are simple and opposite, attached by 2–5 cm petioles, are narrow elliptic or lanceolate in shape, 2–5 cm long and 0.5-1.8 cm wide, and are glabrous and densely covered with cystoliths.[1][2] The plant flowers from August or September to October or November, with 1.5 cm purple to white 5-lobed funnel-shaped corollas, which produce loculicidal capsules with four ovate seeds.[1][2]
The species appears similar to Strobilanthes tretraspermus (Champ. ex Benth.) Druce in China, but S. japonica has lanceolate leaves and glabrous ovary,[1] and S. tretraspermus has a pubescent calyx.[2]
Distribution
Earlier thought to be indigenous to Japan,[4] S. japonica is now thought to have been introduced from China.[2]
Partial distribution includes regions of Japan (Shikoku and Kyushu)[5] and regions of China (Chongqing, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan).[6] ("Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution.")[7] The plant typically grows at 500–1100 meters altitude, and Flora of China notes that it is often found near temples and religious sites.[1] In Japan, it is "cultivated for ornamental purpose, rarely naturalized on S. Kyushu"), and "wild plants are not known in China," according to Flora of Japan.[2]