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Acanthaceae
Chinese Violet
Asystasia gangetica
humble persistence.
- Family
- Acanthaceae
- Genus
- Asystasia
- Native to
- India, China, Southeast Asia, East Africa
- Bloom season
- Year-Round
- Type
- perennial herb
- Height
- 1-2 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- well-drained, adaptable
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 9-11
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Asystasia gangetica has naturalized across tropical regions worldwide and is now considered invasive in parts of Australia and many Pacific islands.
- Despite its weedy tendencies, it is deliberately cultivated as a ground cover and fodder crop across Asia and Africa, valued for its rapid growth.
- In Malaysia, the leaves are eaten raw in salads or cooked as a vegetable, and are high in protein relative to most leafy greens.
- Traditional healers in West Africa use leaf poultices to treat skin infections, and the plant has shown antimicrobial properties in laboratory studies.
- The flowers open sequentially up a long spike, so a single plant appears almost continuously in bloom for many weeks.
Color meanings
0
persistence
1
adaptability
2
quiet strength