(Gentianaceae)
Tripterospermum hirticalyx  BSWJ11786

Description

A small twining herbaceous climber to about 1.5m . With purple slender stems supporting heart shaped leaves with long pointed tips, grey to green above purple below. Bearing from mid summer into autumn long gentian shaped blue and white striped flowers 4.5 cm long, followed by purple aubergine-like seed pods full of flat black seed. A plentiful species where we gathered the seed for this species, in the extreme north of Vietnam along the border with China at 1900m in 2006. Best grown in a moist environment in light shade with the support of small shrubs, in a humus rich drained soil.