Asystasia gangetica
Diagnostic description 4
Asystasia gangetica (L.) T. Anderson in Thwaites, Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 235. 1860.
Basionym: Justicia gangetica L.
Decumbent herb, creeping or clambering, 1-3 m in length. Stems quadrangular. Leaves 2.5-11 × 2.5-6.5(8) cm, ovate to lanceolate, chartaceous, pubescent on both surfaces, especially on the veins, the apex acuminate, the base obtuse, truncate, rounded, or cordiform, the margins crenulate; petioles 0.5-3(4.5) cm long. Flowers arranged in terminal spikes on axillary branches; bracts and bracteoles ovate, ciliate. Calyx green, 5-7 mm long, the sepals lanceolate; corolla light yellow or pale violet, 2.3-5 cm long, with glandular hairs on the outer surface; stamens and pistil inserted on the floral tube. Capsules 2-2.5 cm long, claviform, light brown when ripe, densely covered with glandular hairs; seeds light brown, with irregular margins.
Phenology: Collected in flower and fruit throughout the year.
Status: Exotic, ornamental, naturalized in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, quite common.
Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 3083; 7001; 7082.
Distribution 5
Distribution: On roadsides and in open places. Also on Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Tortola. A species of Asiatic origin, cultivated throughout the tropics.
Public forest: Ceiba, El, Yunque, Río Abajo, and Tortuguero.
Sources and Credits
- (c) John Tann, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/31031835@N08/5730939651/
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10237944
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10240390
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435057
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435649
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- African Plants - a photo guide
- Atlas of Living Australia
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- eFloras.org
- Flora Digital de Portugal
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- World Flora Online
- 日本のレッドデータ検索システム
- 植物和名−学名インデックス YList
