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Botanical name |
Dissotis princeps |
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Other names |
Wild tibouchina; lasiandra; kalwerbossie (Afrikaans) |
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Family |
Melastomataceae |
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Dimensions |
Herbaceous, perennial shrub that grows up to 3 m in height |
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Description of stem |
Young stems are angular |
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Description of leaves |
Hairy, as is the whole plant; elliptical to ovate or lanceolate, recurving along the main axis, the edges also curving inwards; edges entire |
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Description of flowers |
Terminal panicles of purple, violet or occasionally white flowers, 6 cm in diameter; in warm climates the flowering may occur almost all year round; a green five sepal calyx tube topped with five petals lighter coloured towards the outside; the style is pink and the two rows of 5 stamens in each flower are cream in colour; they are unequal and characteristically bent at the beginning stage after the flower has opened |
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Description of seed/fruit |
The seed capsule is embedded in the persistent calyx; it contains many small seeds |
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Description of roots |
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Variation |
Some have longer bristles on and varied forms of the seed receptacles |
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Propagation and cultivation |
Good in well-watered deep soil in sunny places; cut back heavily in winter; grown by cuttings more commonly than from seed; fast-growing and easy to grow |
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Tolerances |
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Uses |
The leaves are used to treat dysentry and diarrhoea in traditional medicine; fodder to fatten calves; a vegetable in food scarcity times; a garden plant, from which several cultivars have been made; said to be used as an aphrodysiac |
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Ecological rarity |
Common |
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Pests and diseases |
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Other |
Dissos' (Greek) means two-fold, referring to the two appearances of the stamens; 'princeps' (Latin) is distinguished, probably placing it above other species in the genus in terms of its specacular flower; whilst about 100 Dissotis species occur in Africa, southern Africa only has three, including D. princeps |
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Location |
Montane bush and marshy areas, forest edges https://www.cialissansordonnancefr24.com/ and streambanks |
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Distribution (SA provinces) |
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Country |
South Africa; Swaziland; Mozambique; Zimbabwe; Tanzania; Malawi; Zambia; Botswana; Namibia |
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Info: www.plantzafrica.com |