Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical shrubland

Range

South Asia

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Status

Uncommon

About

This tropical plant grows in the shaded forests of southern India and Sri Lanka. Its seed pods explode when wet to launch seeds up to three meters away from the parent stem.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Lamiales

Family

Acanthaceae

Genus

Crossandra

Species

Crossandra infundibuliformis