Phaulopsis imbricata
Summary 2
Phaulopsis imbricata is a shrub native to South Africa. It is also known as Himalayan Ruellia. Leaves are opposite, one larger than the other in each pair, usually asymmetrical at the base. Phaulopsis imbricata is a good fodder, the young leaves are eaten as a vegetable and the plant-ash in oil is rubbed into scarifications on the back for rheumatism in Tanganyika. The flowers have an unpleasant smell. It is filed as near-threatened in IUCN. It...
Description 3
Trailing and scrambling herb with semi-erect stems up to 1 m. Leaves opposite, one larger than the other in each pair, usually asymmetrical at the base. Flowers in terminal clusters, white with a purple centre, appearing from broad, overlapping bracts. The flowers have an unpleasant smell.
Diagnostic 4
"Diffuse herbs, branches glandular hairy. Leaves in unequal pairs, 3-5 x 2 cm, elliptic, acuminate at both ends, nerves 4 pairs; petiole 2.5 cm long. Spikes axillary, 2 x 1 cm, 1-sided; bracts paired, 6 x 7 mm, orbicular, hairy and long ciliate along the margins; bracteoles absent. Flowers small, scarcely seen above the bracts; calyx lobes 5, unequal; corolla 8 mm long, bilabiate, tube slender, lobes obtuse, white with pink spots; stamens 4, filaments united into an adnated sheath below. Capsule 3 mm long, glabrous; seeds 4, compressed."
Sources and Credits
- (c) fidymbg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by fidymbg
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaulopsis_imbricata
- (c) Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/30288188
- (c) India Biodiversity Portal, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/26334390
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- African Plants - a photo guide
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- World Flora Online
