Graptophyllum pictum Griff.

Caricature-plant (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Lamiales > Acanthaceae > Graptophyllum

Characteristics

An evergreen shrub 2-3 m high. The leaves are up to 15 cm long and 6 cm wide and coloured. They can be green, silver, yellow or red. The leaves have markings like writing on them. The leaves occur opposite one another. The edges of the leaves can be irregular and wavy. The leaf stalk is 2-4 cm long. The flowers are reddish purple in clusters on the tops of plants. The flower clusters are 8 cm long and the flowers have an inflated throat. The lip of the flower is dark red. The fruit is a capsule which is often beaked. It is 3-4 cm long. There can be up to 4 seeds.
More
Shrubs to 3 m tall; stems glabrous. Leaves ovate to elliptic, to 20 cm long, 9 cm wide, apically acuminate, basally attenuate, glabrous, purplish or green, variously marked with yellow, the margins entire; petioles short. Inflorescences in terminal racemes, the rachis glabrous or sparingly puberulous; corollas dark purple or crimson, glabrous outside, glandular puberulous inside, to ca. 8 cm long, 1.5 cm broad at the mouth; stamens 2, exserted, staminodes 2. Capsule clavate; seeds 2-4.
Red-purple tubular flowers 1-11/2 in. long in narrow panicles
Variegated leaves, often copper-coloured (see note below)
Planted in gardens as an ornamental.
A glabrous shrub
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.5 - 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows naturally in the New Guinea region. It mostly occurs in coastal areas below 800 m altitude. It grows in sago swamps. They need a temperature above 13°C. The green form often grows naturally in forests on coral. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan.
More
Not known
Light 4-6
Soil humidity 3-7
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-11

Usage

The young leaves are cooked and eaten.
Uses environmental use food material medicinal social use
Edible flowers leaves
Therapeutic use Constipation (unspecified), Dermatosis (unspecified), Earache (unspecified), Emollient (unspecified), Resolvent (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Swelling (unspecified), Wound (unspecified), Ache(Ear) (unspecified), Emmenagogue (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

It can be grown from cuttings of young wood with a heel attached. Plants can be grown from seed. The temperature needs to be above 19-24°C. Picking out the tips increases the branching.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) 1
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Graptophyllum pictum leaf picture by Jacob Nulik (cc-by-sa)
Graptophyllum pictum leaf picture by Jacob Nulik (cc-by-sa)
Graptophyllum pictum leaf picture by c.a. amelia (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Graptophyllum pictum flower picture by Jacob Nulik (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Graptophyllum pictum world distribution map, present in Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Barbados, Cameroon, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Fiji, Ghana, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Equatorial Guinea, Guam, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Northern Mariana Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Niue, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Sierra Leone, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, United States Minor Outlying Islands, United States of America, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:49186-1
WFO ID wfo-0000708612
COL ID 3HB8P
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 452429
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Justicia picta Marama picta Graptophyllum hortense Graptophyllum picturatum Justicia klotzschiana Justicia carayana Graptophyllum medioauratum Graptophyllum hortense var. luridosanguineum Graptophyllum hortense var. rubrum Graptophyllum hortense var. viride Graptophyllum pictum var. luridosanguineum Graptophyllum pictum var. viride Justicia picta var. luridosanguinea Graptophyllum pictum