Asystasia Species, Chinese Violet, Creeping Foxglove, Ganges Primrose

A variety of this plant, not the varigated leaves, is a Florida invasive. It easily will take over your yard, as it has mine. Fine if y...Read Moreou enjoy pulling long, shallow-rooted vines on a daily basis (some do). I’ve seen mentioned that they eat this like spinach in India, but have not reached out to my extension service or UFAS to verify. Will report back. If so, I would be very happy to have a year-round green to harvest with no work.

I bought one a while back and want more. They are fast growing and beautiful continual flowering and make a great vine for covering a f...Read Moreence for privacy. Easy care and easy to train to grow on lattice.

I have received an email forwarded from Australia stating this is an invasive species "Down-under". They are actually looking for sample...Read Mores to be sent for DNA analysis to assist in their pest management program. I do see that it currently grows in Southern Florida. If you can help out the Aussies, here's their contact information:


I work in weed and pest management in Australia, and I need your help!

Asystasia gangetica ssp. micrantha is a new weed here that we are trying to eradicate before it become as big a problem here as it has elsewhere. There has been some conjecture over here in regards to its taxonomy and I am involved in a DNA study to determine if it is in fact different from A. gangetica ssp gangetica. What I need, and I realizes this is a long shot, but I need a tissue sample. If I was to send a parcel with everything you need including a paid parcel for you to send it back, would you or someone you know be interested in grabbing 2 or 3 leaves for me? You would be credited in the resultant paper. I know this is a strange request, but we have not exactly got the funding to travel the world collecting the sample, so we really are relying on the help of others.

Yours faithfully,

Jordan Skinner
Invasive Species Officer

Port Stephens Council
Phone: 02 4980 0392 Mobile: 0409 716 346
Email: Jordan.skinner@portstephens.nsw.gov.au

The Chinese violet (not really in the violet family), a subshrub herb, is also known as Ganges primrose, creeping foxglove, coromandel an...Read Mored false snapdragon. Its original native range is India, the Malay Peninsula and Africa. It is a perennial and becoming naturalized in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin islands and some parts of Florida and an annual in colder regions. The leaves are a light green, somewhat oval but pointed on the ends. The only cultivar I have observed is the one I posted above. It is about 18 to 20 inches tall, but the plant can grow to 3 feet tall depending upon the cultivar and the locale in which it is growing. It can attain a width of 2 to 3 feet depending upon the cultivar and the locale in which it is growing.

The 1 to 1.5 inch in diameter, deep throated blooms stand above the foliage and come in a variety of colors including rhe greenish-yellow I posted, cream with purple markings, white, white with purple and yellow markings, lavender, pale purple, light blue with yellow markings and pinkish purple. The throat can be white, cream, yellow or pale purple. I am sure there are other bloom colors with different colored markings as well. Some cultivars are sweetly scented with the fragrance being especially strong in the evening. Bees are especially attracted to the blooms. Butterflies and humingbirds visit them also.

It blooms profusely from spring until fall. In consistently warm climates, it blooms all year and attains a larger size. It produces 3/4 to 1 inch seedpods which have jaculators upon which the seeds rest which explosively hurl the seed out of the seedpod as the carpels separate. It can be propagated by stem cuttings. Plant stems (runners)touching the soil root by themselves which spreads the plant naturally. Snipping a piece, dipping it in a root stimulator such as Root-Tone, potting the cutting and keeping the soil moist should do the trick. Starting with a cutting that has roots already starting to grow should hasten the process.

Not picky about soil types, it appears to not require a lot of water (the greenish-yellow blooming one I posted), it grows prolifically in filtered shade and less so in full sun. It thrives in morning sun and afternoon filtered shade. I do not know if it will grow in full shade, but I doubt it. I have researched sites that state that other types of Chinese violet require consistently moist soil during hot weather. Because I have not grown the plant myself yet, I can not confirm this for the greenish-yellow bloomer.

It is usually used as a spreading ground cover, but I think it would be an excellent container or hanging basket plant. Although I have not been able to locate a source for this plant in my area, I have found several on-line plant sources on the east coast where several types of cultivar are available. I have collected seeds and snipped a few cuttings from the light yellow blooming type that were growing at the San Antonio Botanical Garden (had obtained permission to do so) and will post whether I have successfully propagated some plants.

Update10/07
I observed a dark purple type in Maui, Hawaii which was was prolifically blooming and have posted photos.

Update: 12/29/08
I started several light yellowish-green blooming plants from both cuttings and seed. They prospered for several years in morning sun and filtered afternoon shade. During times of drought, they needed supplemental watering. The plants died after several hard, sustained freezes one winter after I forgot to protect them.