Boea

Boea is a genus of plants in the family Gesneriaceae, with species originating from Australia, China, India, Malaysia, Birma, Philippines, Polynesia, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.[1] Boea make good house plants, but also successfully grow in the wild.

Boea
Boea hygroscopica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Gesneriaceae
Tribe: Didymocarpeae
Genus: Boea
Comm. ex Lam.
Type species
Boea magellanica
Lam.
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Dorcoceras Bunge
  • Chleterus Raf. (1814)

For example, B. hygroscopica, also known as the Queensland rock violet in Australia, occurs in Cape York Peninsula and Northeast Queensland as far south as Rockhampton, within an altitude range from 60–900 metres (200–2,950 ft). It grows along creek beds, on moist banks, moss-covered rocks in rainforest, open forest, vine forest and gallery forest.[2]

Some Boea species are known as types of resurrection plant due to their ability to survive desiccation (e.g. B. hygrometrica and B. hygroscopica).[3][4]

  • Boea hemsleyana plant
  • Boea hemsleyana flowers
  • Boea hemsleyana seedlings

Cultivation

These cultivation notes are based on B. hygroscopica, a species from Northern Queensland, Australia.[5]

Boea hygroscopica grows to about 15 centimetres (6 in), and forms a dense, velvety clump that flowers over many weeks in the warm months.

A well-drained soil is suggested for this plant, achieved by using a potting mix with 20% sand content, and 5mm (~0.2 inches) of scoria or other drainage material in the bottom of the pot. A fertiliser with an NPK ratio of about 13.8:3.2:9.9, plus trace elements, is recommended.

This plant prefers bright, filtered light, possibly with some early-morning direct sun. It can be planted in the garden in a well-drained, consistently moist location.

The only major pests of this plant are chewing insects such as grasshoppers and caterpillars.

Species

The Smithsonian lists the following Boea species.[1]

  • Boea clarkeana
  • Boea dennisii
  • Boea esquirolii
  • Boea geoffrayi
  • Boea hemsleyana
  • Boea hians
  • Boea hygrometrica
  • Boea hygroscopica
  • Boea kinnearii
  • Boea lawesii
  • Boea magellanica
  • Boea mollis
  • Boea philippensis
  • Boea rosselensis
  • Boea urvillei
  • Boea wallichii

The Smithsonian also lists:[1]

  • Kaisupeea herbacea with the basionym: Boea herbacea
  • Leptoboea multiflora with the previous synonym Boea multiflora
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References
  1. Skog, L.E. & J.K. Boggan. 2007. World Checklist of Gesneriaceae. Washington, DC: Dept. of Botany, Smithsonian Institution.
  2. "Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants fact sheet". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  3. Jiang,G et al. 2007. Planta, May 2007, Volume 225, Issue 6, pp 1405-1420
  4. Navari-Izzo,F et al. 2006. Physiologica Plantarum, Unusual composition of thylakoid membranes of the resurrection plant Boea hygroscopica: Changes in lipids upon dehydration and rehydration, Volume 94, Issue 1, pages 135–142, May 1995
  5. Jacson, S. Tropiclimber Cultivation Information.
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