Eranthemum purpurascens - Purple Eranthemum

Purple Eranthemum is a herb to undershrub, up to 3 ft tall, stem 4-angled, striped, shortly velvet-hairy. Flowers are borne in spikes at branch-ends and in leaf-axils, 7 cm long, flower-cluster-stalk up to 10 cm long. Flowers are blue, 4 cm long, tube long and slender, petals obovate, twisted to the left in bud, spreading in flower, perfect stamens 2, staminodes 2; style long and slender, sparsely hairy. Sepal-cup is scarious, 12 x 1 mm, oblong-lanceshaped with long pointed sepals 5. Bracts are green, ovate-lanceshaped, to 2.5 cm long, long tapering, prominently nerved, netveined, margin fringed with hairs. Leaves ovate or elliptic, 4-10 x 2.5-8 cm, becoming hairless, base rounded and then decurrent, somewhat heart-shaped in upper stalkless ones, margin rounded-toothed, tip tapering; lateral nerves up to 8 pairs, prominent. Leaf-stalk is decurrent, 3.5 cm, upper leaves much smaller than the lower ones, heart-shaped, rounded or narrowed at base, stalkless or shortly stalked. Capsule is 1-1.2 cm long, club-shaped-oblong, painted, hairless. Purple Eranthemum is found in the Himalayas, Western Ghats and other parts of India, at altitudes of 300-1700 m. Flowering: November-February.