Plant of the day is: Rotheca myricoides or blue glory bower
The top and outer styles are 2 lobed or forked if you look closely
Kind of a blue Monday, so this seemed fitting. I was initially going to write about a Clerodendrum but this plant does almost as well. It WAS formerly Clerodendrum until fairly recently so...close enough. For a real treat visit the link to the above image and enjoy this photo full screen, it's magnificent.
Taxonomy, etc.: Rotheca is another member of that quite large Lamiaceae or mint family. I didn't set out to write about a couple of mints in a row but hey, things happen. These particular members of the family represent the more tropical variety. Until 1998 Rotheca wasn't really a recognized genus until phlogenetic DNA analysis set things straight. Members of the genus can be shrubs, perennial herbs, and a few lianas and small trees. The genus comprises about 30 species in the sub-Saharan region of Africa with one tropical species in Asia. Genus was named by Rafinesque in 1838, that's Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz. Apparently 4 names makes you cooler. Certainly a genius, as he wrote about anthropology, biology, geology, and linguistics. Truly a man of science. He started collecting herbarium samples at the age of 12, a full 21 years before me and learned Greek and Latin by 14. What a boss.
The genus was lumped into Clerodendrum (named by Linnaeus in 1753) in 1895 by John Isaac Briquet who I will forever remember as the guy who messed that up. Phylogenetic work shows that including Rotheca in Clerodendrum makes Clerodendrum polypheletic. NOBODY wants that, especially those taxonomists. I'm trying to think of a good analogy here and coming up short, I'll work on it, trust me.
note the larger DISTAL corolla lobe
Description: Well what makes it different than Clerodendrum right?? I was curious too. Unlike Clerodendrum, flower buds of the genus are asymmetrical and the corolla expands abruptly on the lower side only. The anterior (I like distal much butter) corolla lobe is much larger than the other four corolla lobes. Anthers are basifixed and the stigma lobes are unequal. Basifixed? I had to look it up. Glad I did, had no idea. Neat stuff. See below. Also, stigma lobes are unequal. Morphology is the coolest. If the plant isn't flowering...good luck I suppose. Anyways, this particular species R. ugandense will flower year round and is a small upright shrub of about 1-2 m in height (nice size for a sun room...). Flowers blue to light blue. Leaves are opposite per the family trait, dark green and glossy, and about 10cm long with a short petiole.
A quick note on crossing: These are really cool flowers that do not self pollinate and evolved a morphological strategy to avoid it. In the top picture you can see how the style sticks out and bends away from the anthers, this helps avoid getting pollen on the stigma, keeping it clear for other pollen brought in from another plant. Oh evolution, you rock.
Culture, etc.: Prefers fairly warm temps above 15C to be really happy (like 60F :P..). Reportedly hardy to zone 8 (-6C at the coldest...metric!). Likes full sun to part shade and to dry out well between waterings. The species is an east African species and actually first described from Kenya and not Uganda. This particular one will take much colder conditions than most others. I should mention (as I found here that it is ROOT hardy to zone 8 (comes back from roots yearly) but only holds its leaves/stems in zones 10-11. A fairly fast grower but easily managed and can be pruned easily (and THAT is fun I bet).
In closing: The leaves are kinda stinky when crushed, sometimes callled a butterfly bush because the flowers look kinda like butterflies (whatever people...whatever). And remember it's not Clerodendrum ugandense or Clerodendrum myricoides 'Ugandense'...but Rotheca myricoides. Until next year...and then who knows what it'll be. I imagine taxonomist meetings to be similar to a bunch of evil villains sitting around a table deciding how most to confuse the world with new terminology :).
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Where may I buy this plant in the UK?
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