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Posted by Andy_SA South Australia (My Page) on Mon, Jan 17, 05 at 1:10
| I got a herb at the weekend that was sold as "7 spice herb". It's clearly a plectranthus, but not P. amboinicus - the leaves are smaller and darker. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance for any replies posted. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: ID needed
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| It surely IS Plectranthus amboinicus, which is often called, amongst many other names, '7-in-one' herb or similar names. There's a green one and a variegated one. You'll often get smaller leaves when it's in a pot (especially if it's potbound), and they'll often be darker green than usual when kept in partial shade and well-watered. Nurseries often used high-nitrogen fertilisers to give a deeper, greener look to plants they want to sell in a hurry. It's a trick-of-the-trade to catch those who are shy of turning a plant out of its pot to look at the bits in the dirt. |
RE: ID needed
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- Posted by Andy_SA South Australia (My Page) on
Mon, Jan 17, 05 at 7:32
Definitely not amboinicus - a plant which I've done a lot of research into and have grown both forms of. The leaves, stems, flower spikes and scent are markedly different.
The plant was not bought in a nursery, but on a charity stall. It was grown in poor soil to boot. |
RE: ID needed
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| Andy - I did some research, maybe it is a cultivar of amboinicus? These plants have been in cultivation a long time and would have been selected for different characteristics in different areas, eg. all the many diverse forms of Thymus vulgaris. Just a suggestion. Plectranthus argentia and Plectranthus fruticosa are lesser known herbs. I can't find any info on them at present other than they exist! Perhaps you have stumbled apon on of these? |
RE: ID needed
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- Posted by Anna_B Sydney, NSW (My Page) on
Mon, Jan 17, 05 at 23:02
| Andy, may not be of any help, but maybe you have a plant that has been mislabelled which has probably been known to the seller by this particular name. Sometime ago I bought a plant from a school fete which was labelled 'plectranthus'..the leaves were similar to the spurflower or plectranthus saccatus but on flowering it had clusters of blue flowers. A search revealed it to be Eranthemum pulchellum (or Blue Sage). The lady who provided the plants to the fete was a delightful elderly person who had been gardening for years and probably had always called the plant by this name. So in a roundabout way I wonder if this could have occurred with the plant you have. I have some plectranthus growing which have small, dark coloured leaves with purple undersides. They have a very faint smell, though nothing like the '7 in one'. |
RE: ID needed
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- Posted by Andy_SA South Australia (My Page) on
Wed, Jan 19, 05 at 1:45
| OK! That narrows it down even more. I did think it could be a cultivar of P. amboinicus, but something tells me it's a separate species. Ifound the following page for P. fruticosus: http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/plectfrutjames.htm When my mystery plant is looking a bit more photogenic, I'll post a pic. Thanks to everyone for all the help so far. |
RE: ID needed
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| Very interesting Andy, keep us posted. |
RE: ID needed
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| Andy, what market was that? I'd be interested in having a look if people are selling interesting and unusual things. |
RE: ID needed
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- Posted by Andy_SA South Australia (My Page) on
Tue, Jan 25, 05 at 4:41
| It was a stall in a "craft market" in Goolwa - not the actual Goolwa market itself. There were no other unusual herbs - I suppose I was just lucky. |
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