young shoot icon Home All plants About

Plumbago indica L.

Whorled plantain (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Plumbaginaceae > Plumbago

Characteristics

Herb, perennial, 0.5--2 m tall, evergreen. Stems pliable, often lianous, simple or branched from base. Petiole base without auricles; leaf blade narrowly ovate to elliptic-ovate, (3--)7--9.5(--13) X (0.8--)3--4(--6) cm, papery, base rounded to obtuse, apex acute. Inflorescences spicate-racemose, (20--)35--90-flowered; peduncle 1--3 cm, not glandular; rachis (8--)10--40(--50) cm, not glandular; bracts ovate, 2--3 X 1.5--2 mm, apex acuminate; bractlets obovate-elliptical to ovate, 2--2.5 X 1.5--2 mm, apex acute. Calyx 7.5--9.5 mm, glandular almost throughout, tube ca. 2 mm in diam. at middle. Corolla purple to dark red, tube 2--2.5 cm, limb ca. 2 cm in diam.; lobes obovate, ca. 12 X 7 mm, apex rounded and mucronate. Anthers blue, 1.5--2 mm. Ovary ellipsoid-ovoid, indistinctly angular. Heterostylous; style basally pilose; short-styled form with style arms only partly exserted, stigmatic glands without enlarged apex; long-styled form with style arms completely exserted from corolla throat, stigmatic glands capitate. Fruit not seen. Fl. Nov-Apr. 2n = 14.
More
Branched from the base, stems flaccid, sometimes rooting, ½-1½ m. Leaves oblong, 5-15 by 2-8 cm, without fascicled leaves in the axils, petiole not auriculate. Calyx red, 8-9 mm high, glabrous, glandular all over. Racemes not corymbiform, rather sparse. Rachis glabrous, 10-30 cm long. Ovary ovate-oblong. Style base short-hairy. Fruit unknown.
Has been grown in Tanzania at Amani, e.g . Greenway 2236 !. Perennial to 60 cm.. Leaves shortly petiolate, obovate or elliptic.. Peduncle glabrous.. Calyx 6–7 mm .long, with sparse or abundant stalked glands.. Corolla bright scarlet, the tube 14–20 mm. long, the lobes narrowly obovate, 9–11 mm. long.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support climber
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Mature height (meter) 1.0 - 1.5
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

Found in the vicinity of former human activity, locally semi-spontaneous, often persistent in abandoned cultivation, also in teak forest, at elevations up to 1,000 metres.
More
Always in anthropogenic localities, locally run wild or semi-spontaneous, often persistent in abandoned cultivations, also in teak-forests, fl. Jan.-Dec.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity 2-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 11-12

Usage

Uses. Ornamental, sometimes medicinal as a substitute for Rauwolfia serpentina BTH.
Uses alkaloid environmental use food medicinal ornamental poison
Edible -
Therapeutic use Antineoplastic agents (aerial part), Neoplasms (aerial part), Abortifacient agents (root), Anemia (root), Antirheumatic agents (root), Cough (root), Dyspepsia (root), Edema (root), Helminthiasis (root), Hemorrhoids (root), Leprosy (root), Leprosy, lepromatous (root), Lymphadenitis (root), Pain (root), Paralysis (root), General tonic for rejuvenation (root), Sexually transmitted diseases (root), Skin diseases (root), Urinary bladder calculi (root), Urination disorders (root), Reduced salivation (root), Malabsorption syndromes (root), Adenopathy (unspecified), Antiseptic (unspecified), CNS stimulant (unspecified), Cough (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Headache (unspecified), Leprosy (unspecified), Paralysis (unspecified), Piles (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified), Tumor(Abdomen) (unspecified), Vermifuge(Veterinary) (unspecified), Wound (unspecified), Beriberi (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Dyspepsia (unspecified), Flatulence (unspecified), Narcotic (unspecified), Abortive (unspecified), Apertif (unspecified), Fungicide (unspecified), Oxytoxic (unspecified), Anodyne (unspecified), Astringent (unspecified), Gastrotonic (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Vesicant (unspecified), Alterative (unspecified), Abortifacient agents (unspecified), Amenorrhea (unspecified), Anemia (unspecified), Anorexia (unspecified), Anthelmintics (unspecified), Antifungal agents (unspecified), Anti-inflammatory agents (unspecified), Appetite stimulants (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified), Colic (unspecified), Digestive system diseases (unspecified), Elephantiasis (unspecified), Endophthalmitis (unspecified), Expectorants (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Gastrointestinal diseases (unspecified), Helminthiasis (unspecified), Hemorrhage (unspecified), Hemorrhoids (unspecified), Hepatomegaly (unspecified), Hypohidrosis (unspecified), Narcotics (unspecified), General tonic for rejuvenation (unspecified), Scabies (unspecified), Sexually transmitted diseases (unspecified), Toothache (unspecified), Urinary bladder calculi (unspecified), Vitiligo (unspecified), Reduced salivation (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 25 - 30
Germination temperacture (C°) 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Flower

Plumbago indica flower picture by Latha G (cc-by-sa)
Plumbago indica flower picture by Latha G (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Plumbago indica world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, China, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Haiti, Indonesia, India, Iceland, Jamaica, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Taiwan, Province of China, United States of America, Viet Nam, and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:687077-1
WFO ID wfo-0001095164
COL ID 4KJ99
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 445894
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Plumbago indica Plumbago rosea Thela coccinea
WorldFloraDB 2024