Calico-plant

Description

Alternanthera bettzickiana, commonly known as calico-plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is commonly used as an ornamental edging plant. Native to South America, its cultivar 'Red' is similar in appearance to some of the Alternanthera dentata and Alternanthera brasiliana varieties. This perennial herb is between 20 and 50 cm tall and has variegated leaves. Its branched stems have a circular section towards the base and quadrangular towards the summit. They present some hairs at the nodes and the apex, as well as at the level of the short petioles (1 to 4 mm long). The leaf blade is 1 to 6 mm long and 0.5 to 2 mm wide. It is green, red or green tinged with red or yellow. Its shape is oval, sometimes a little oblong or spatulate. It is not flat but slightly wavy. Flowering takes place at the end of the summer. The inflorescences are terminal or axillary; there are between 2 and 5 per flower stalk. The bracts measure 1.5 to 3 mm in length and are acuminate. The corolla and calyx are white tepals, the outermost being longer (3 or 4 mm) and hairy than the internal ones. There are 5 stamens with linear anthers. The ovary is smooth, very short style. It is particularly popular in China, where it is "cultivated in nearly all the large cities". Thriving in full sun to partial shade, the plant has been naturalised in southeastern Queensland, Australia, where it grows in woodlands but can also be found along roads through rainforest. The plant is also harvested from the wild for its edible leaves, which may aid anaemic children. Alternanthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a widespread genus with most species occurring in the tropical Americas, and others in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Plants of the genus may be known generally as joyweeds, or Joseph's coat. Several species are notorious noxious weeds. These are annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs. While some of the better-known species are aquatic plants, most are terrestrial. They take many forms, from prostrate to erect to floating. The leaves are oppositely arranged. The inflorescence is a spike or a rounded head occurring in the leaf axils or the ends of branches. The flowers have 5 tepals. There are 3 to 5 stamens which are fused into a rim at the bases, and 5 pseudostaminodes, appendages between the stamens that are not true staminodes. The fruit is a utricle containing one seed.