Common name: Caricature Plant, Jamaican Croton • Konkani: Kala adulsa, Pandhara adulsa
Botanical name: Graptophyllum pictum Family: Acanthaceae (Barleria family) Synonyms: Justicia picta
Native to New Guinea, caricature plant is a tropical evergreen shrub that
will grow to 6-9 ft tall. Container plants typically grow as rounded 2-4 ft
tall plants. Caricature plant is primarily grown for its variegated foliage.
Oval to elliptic leaves (to 6 in long) are deep green varyingly blotched with
cream along the mid-veins. Terminal clusters of red to purple-red tubular
flowers with protruding stamens bloom in summer. The clusters are 3-4 in
long. Flowers often do not appear on container plants, particularly if stems
are regularly pinched to promote new foliage growth.
| Photographed in Mumbai, Maharashtra. |
Identification credit: Dinesh Valke
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