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Malaysian Flora USDA Zone 11
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Friday, March 25, 2011

Asystasia sp


To me, Asystasia sounds like the name of a pretty lady or fairy princess from a distant land.

Asystasia sp is a scrambling plant with slender, wiry stems. It is best grown when mixed with other plants that can help hold it up. It should be pruned back whenever it begins to smother neighbouring plants. A free-flowering plant that should be grown in full sun. Propagate by cuttings. (Source: Tropical Horticulture and Gardening by Dr. Francis SP Ng).


This plant has no seeds and therefore it is unable to spread as a weed. It is normally cultivated as a garden plant.


Scientific name: Asystasia intrusa
Common name: Asystasia
Origin: Malaysia
Family: Acanthaceae
Photographs taken at: The Secret Garden of 1-Utama
My grateful thanks to Dr. Francis SP Ng, consultant botanist at The Secret Garden


“Asystasia sp”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on March 25th, 2011.



Have you seen this plant in your country?
What name do you call it?
Are the shoots and leaves edible like those of Asystasia intrusa?

This is my entry for Fertilizer Friday this week, grateful thanks to Tootsie for hosting it here.

27 comments:

  1. I am very happy if i am the first one to comment here! I dont know why, that maybe is a carry-over when you still dedicate the next post to the first poster of the previous one!

    We have also this flower in the province, you know my mother, she plants anything she sees from the neighbors. Even just a tip will survive. Now i learned it is Asystasia. I have lots of photos of this but cant post because i dont know even the common name.

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  2. What a beautiful plant! According to the USDA, one of its common names here is Chinese Violet. I think I've seen it in Florida and maybe as a potted plant indoors? But it would be wonderful to see it in its native habitat!

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  3. The close-up is really beautiful. The leaves look familiar. Do you know if this comes in other colours like red?

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  4. At first glance i thought it was orchid. Never seen this plant before, the flowers have beautiful colours.

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  5. It looks like a good cover/scrambler type. Lovely colour.

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  6. Beautiful flower. Looks so sweet and fragile. I like the name too!

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  7. Hi Autumn Belle! The flower you have featured is Asystasia indica, and it is a native of India and other parts of south-east Asia. It flowers profusely even in shade.

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  8. What a beauty, not one I've seen before. It would be one I would love to add to my gardens.

    FlowerLady

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  9. Beautiful plant with delicate blooms and I don't think I've ever seen it before...Have a beautiful week!!!

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  10. Will be very pretty as hedge or border. Hope you have a fine weekend.

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  11. So pretty! I am a huge fan of purple flowers. Its' foliage is even attractive.

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  12. I have not seen this before. Must make a trip to One Utama just to see the secret garden.
    Great photos. So clear.
    Rosie

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  13. The name Asystasia does sound like a lovely Lady. The flower certainly is lovely and beautiful and to think it is a climber? Wow. You always have the most gorgeous flowers to share, thank you!

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  14. Such a beautiful name for a sweet dainty purple flower. Have seen the flowers before but dont know the name until now. Thanks for letting us know.

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  15. Ta piękna roślina, która rośnie w cieniu nie ma szans w nas żyć. A szkoda, bo w ogródku mam sporo cienia.Pozdrawiam

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  16. Asystasia does sound like a sweet elderly lady with dignity. Nice name and a beautiful plant. So nice to see blooming flowers this time of the year. My post this week is the snow storm we had on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am getting tired of this snow stuff. See what you miss by living in such a warm climate!! Jack

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  17. Very beautiful plant...at first glance I thought it was a orchid too!
    I'm interested to learn from PlantPostings that it grows in Florida...I wonder if it is native to this state?

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  18. Beautiful, and I love purple. I don't think I've ever seen this plant, but it looks like something nice to have.

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  19. Thank you for sharing... very pretty flower it is...

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  20. It's commonly found here too. It's called Arystasia cultivar, the broader type of flowers are commonly named Arystasia Gangerica or Coromondel.

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  21. Hi, Everyone!

    Thank you very much for your nice comments. Andrea, Yay! Thanks for being my first commenter.

    There are other species of Asystasia with white, pink, yellow and blue-white flowers. If you google, you'll find them. Some examples are A. gangetica, A. intrusa, A. scandens and A. squarrosa.

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  22. hi Autumn Belle! I'm from Singapore & two types of Asystasia, Asystasia coromandeliana (Malay name aka ruas-ruas) and Asystasia intrusa, are common weeds here. they're really pretty weeds though, and I'm often tempted to pluck them from the roadside & bring them home! By the way, you have a lovely blog & I look forward to your future posts =))

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  23. Hi, Terra.Paradoxa.

    Welcome to My Nice Garden! I'm glad you've enjoyed your time here. I love the Malay name of the Asytasia. I have also seen the common asystasia (A. intrusa?) that the kampung people love to grow. I read from a website that it can be eaten and used as a survival food when your are lost in the jungle. The link is as follows:

    http://survival.forestexplorers.com/asystasia.shtml

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  24. I seen these type growing along the roadsides and wild bushes.

    IF that is, if they are the same ones I have seen. They have a seedpod that turn brown and explode spreading the seeds everywhere.

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  25. James, I think you have seen Asystasia intrusa aka Asystasia gangetica ssp micrantha - a sheeps' delight but a farmer's horror ;-)

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