Indoor Hanging plant- Aeschynanthus radicans: Floral formula

The Lipstick Plant (*Aeschynanthus radicans*) is a beautiful, trailing evergreen hanging plant that is cultivated for decorative purposes in homes and on balconies. It derives its name from its flowers, as its red blooms bear a striking resemblance to lipstick. The plant features deep green, glossy, and thick leaves, which further enhance its visual appeal. This plant thrives in conditions characterized by partial shade, high humidity, and well-drained soil. Since the stems of the Lipstick Plant are long and slender, it is considered best suited for planting in hanging pots. Its flowers bloom during the summer and monsoon seasons, making the plant look exceptionally beautiful and ideal for use as an ornamental display.

Indoor Hanging plant- Aeschynanthus radicans: Floral formula

Scientific Name: Aeschynanthus radicans

Some Basic Information about Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus radicans) - Indoor hanging plant

Habit: Perennial, evergreen trailing or climbing epiphytic herb; stems pendulous, usually 30–100 cm long, forming dense hanging clusters

Root: Adventitious roots arise from nodes; in natural habitat, roots help in attachment to tree bark and absorb moisture from humid air

Stem: Slender, trailing, branched, soft and flexible; green when young, becoming slightly woody with age; nodes distinct

Leaf: Opposite, petiolate, simple; ovate to elliptic; margin entire; thick, fleshy, and leathery; surface smooth, glossy, dark green

Inflorescence: Axillary clusters or terminal cymes, usually few-flowered

Flower: Bracteate, complete, zygomorphic, bisexual, hypogynous; flowers tubular, bright red or orange, resembling a lipstick emerging from a tube

Calyx: Sepals 5, gamosepalous at base, forming a tubular or campanulate structure; valvate aestivation

Corolla: Petals 5, fused forming a long tubular, bilabiate corolla; brightly colored (red/orange); lobes unequal

Androecium: Stamens 4 (didynamous), epipetalous (attached to corolla tube); anthers dithecous, dehiscing longitudinally

Gynoecium: Ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous; unilocular with parietal placentation; style single, stigma bilobed

Fruit: Capsule, long and slender, dehiscing to release numerous small seeds, often with hair-like appendages

Floral Formula: Br % ⚥ K(5) C(5) A4 G(2)

Systematic Position:

Division – Angiospermae
Class – Dicotyledonae
Order – Lamiales
Family – Gesneriaceae
Genus – Aeschynanthus
Species – radicans

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