Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Rich.) Vahl APNI* Description: Herb or subshrub 0.5 - 2.5 m high. Stems dichotomously branched, subterete or weakly tetragonal; branches and branchlets glabrescent-puberulous, hairy on nodes.
Petiolate, bright green; lamina ovate-elliptic or oblongelliptic, acute at the apex, long attenuate or decurrent into petiole, with crenate-serrate margin, 2 - 10 cm long, 1- 5 cm wide, glabrous or sparsely strigose on veins below, membranous-chartaceous when dry; petiole glabrescent or puberulous-strigose 2 - 20 mm long.
Inflorescence slender, flaccid, 10 - 45 cm long, peduncle pubescent when young, almost glabrous when old, 5 - 30 mm long; rachis pubescent or subglabrous, 1 - 3 mm diameter, bracts ovate or ovate-subulate, 3 - 5 mm long, 1 - 2 mm wide near base. Flowers sessile, spreading during anthesis. Calyx compressed, 4-costate, 4 - 6 mm long, 1 - 2 mm diam., with 4 equal subulate teeth, 0.5 - 1 mm long. Corolla pale blue, pale violet, purple, lavender, occasionally white, glabrous outside, villous inside the upper half of the tube and throat; tube cylindrical, 6 - 7 mm long, 1 - 2 mm diam. Stamens included, inserted in corolla throat; filaments c. 1 mm long, pubescent; anthers c. 1 mm long with divergent lobes; staminodes filiform, pubescent. Ovary oblong, glabrous, 1 - 2 mm long, c. 1 mm diam.; style included, filiform, glabrous, 4 - 7 mm long; stigma capitate.
Fruit oblong, glabrous, somewhat compressed, 3 - 4 mm long, 1.5 - 2 mm wide, dark brown to blackish.
Flowering: Flowers throughout the year, chiefly Summer and Autumn.
Distribution and occurrence: Naturalised in coastal regions, north from Byron Bay, N.S.W. Also naturalised in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Native of tropical America. Recorded from a variety of habitats including disturbed roadsides, farming land and edges of coastal woodland and littoral rainforest.
NSW subdivisions: *NC
Other Australian states: *Qld *N.T. *W.A.
Text by A.E. Orme (2016)
Taxon concept: A.A. Munir (1992)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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