Plumbago, Leadwort

Plumbago auriculata Lam. (P. capensis Thunb.) (Blue Plumbago, Africa, escaped in Florida WU2)

Plumbago zeylanica L. (P. scandens L.) (White Plumbago, Doctorbush, native)

Plumbago indica (Scarlet Plumbago, Asia)

Plumbaginaceae

Explanation of name: Plumbago refers to lead, as in plumber and plumb bob. Auriculata refers to auricles, or “ears,” presumably at the leafbases. Zeylanica means from Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Indica refers to India.

Natural range: Blue Plumbago is African and escaped in Florida. Scarlet Plumbago comes from tropical Asia. White Plumbago is native to Florida.

Recognition: Rampant, weak-stemmed subshrubs with alternate leaves. Flowers in dense, spikelike wands. Sepals distinctive: fused into a warty-glandular tube. Corolla tube narrow, blue (P. auriculata), red (P. indica), or white (P. zeylanica, also P. auriculata ‘Alba’).

Landscape uses: Blue Plumbago is one of the few blue flowers in South Florida cultivation. It forms sprawling, weak-stemmed masses, borders, and informal hedges, tending to grow into arching-stemmed tangles, or can be disciplined with pruning. Attractive in containers and planters. There is a white-flowered cultivar ‘Alba’. Scarlet Plumbago offers a slender, weak-stemmed, sprawling plant with bright red flowers. White Plumbago is of interest as a highly salt-tolerant native wildflower.