Dissotis princeps

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Botanical name

Dissotis princeps

Other names

Wild tibouchina; lasiandra; kalwerbossie (Afrikaans)

Family

Melastomataceae

Dimensions

Herbaceous, perennial shrub that grows up to 3 m in height

Description of stem

Young stems are angular

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

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

Description of seed/fruit

The seed capsule is embedded in the persistent calyx; it contains many small seeds

Description of roots

 

Variation

Some have longer bristles on and varied forms of the seed receptacles

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

Tolerances

 

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

Ecological rarity

Common

Pests and diseases

 

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

Location

Montane bush and marshy areas, forest edges https://www.cialissansordonnancefr24.com/ and streambanks

Distribution (SA provinces)

Kwazulu-Natal; Mpumalanga; Limpopo

Country

South Africa; Swaziland; Mozambique; Zimbabwe; Tanzania; Malawi; Zambia; Botswana; Namibia

 

Info: www.plantzafrica.com