Ceratostigma

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Scientific classification
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Ceratostigma (Leadwort) (from the Greek word "Κερατόστιγμα") is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia.

They are herbaceous plants, subshrubs, or small shrubs growing to 0.3-1 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 1-9 cm long, usually with a hairy margin. Some of the species are evergreen, others deciduous. The flowers are produced in a compact inflorescence, each flower with a five-lobed corolla; flower colour varies from pale to dark blue to red-purple. The fruit is a small bristly capsule containing a single seed.

Selected species

• Ceratostigma abyssinicum (Hochst.) Schwein. & Asch.
• Ceratostigma griffithii C.B.Clarke
• Ceratostigma minus Stapf ex Prain
• Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Bunge
• Ceratostigma ulicinum Prain
• Ceratostigma willmottianum Stapf

Cultivation and uses

C. plumbaginoides is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens for its pale blue flowers and bright red autumn leaves.

References

• Flora of China: Ceratostigma
• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.