Ceratostigma willmottianum

Ceratostigma willmottianum, Chinese plumbago,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae that is native to western China and Tibet.[2] It is an ornamental deciduous shrub that grows to 1 metre in height, with pale blue plumbago-like flowers appearing in autumn as the leaves start to turn red.[3]

Ceratostigma willmottianum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Plumbaginaceae
Genus: Ceratostigma
Species:
C. willmottianum
Binomial name
Ceratostigma willmottianum

Etymology

Ceratostigma is derived from Greek, meaning 'horned stigma’. This is in reference to the ‘shape of the stigmatic surface’.[4]

The specific epithet willmottianum was named for Miss Ellen Ann Willmott (1858-1934), a keen gardener and plant introducer from Warley Place, Essex, UK.[4]

Cultivation

Ceratostigma willmottianum is cultivated as a garden plant, valued for its late season red leaves and rich blue flowers. Both the species[1] and the cultivar Forest Blue = 'Lice'[5] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6] There is also a cultivar with yellow foliage, Desert Skies = 'Palmgold'.[7]

References
  1. "RHS Plantfinder - Ceratostigma willmottianum". Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. "Ceratostigma willmottianum Stapf". The Plant List (published on the internet). 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. Kristo Pienaar (1 August 2003). South African 'What Flower Is That'?. Struik. pp. 81–. ISBN 978-1-86872-441-3. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  4. Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 99, 407
  5. "RHS Plantfinder - Ceratostigma willmottianum Forest Blue = 'Lice'". Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  6. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 17. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  7. "Ceratostigma willmottianum Desert Skies ('Palmgold')". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 15 October 2021.


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