Browallia

Browallia americana L. (with comments on B. speciosa Hook.)

brow-WALL-ee-ah ahm-er-ah-CANE-ah and spee-see-OH-sah

Solanaceae

Explanation of name: Genus named for John Browallius, 1707-1755, botanist and Bishop of Abo, Sweden (BA1). Americana is self-explanatory. Speciosa means pretty.

Misapplied name: Browallia viscosa of authors, non Kunth (http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=509792)

Natural range: Tropical America (not Florida)

Recognition: Plants small (2') perennials treated as annuals. Flowers tornado-shaped with slight twist to the petals, blue or purplish with yellow eye.  Browallia americana has notched petals and a flower tube < ¾" long, in contrast with un-notched petals and a flower tube 1" long in B. speciosa (BA1).

Landscape uses: Annuals (cool weather in South Florida), containers, hangers. Propagate from seeds or from cuttings. Escaped from cultivation in Miami-Dade County (WU3)

Internet sources:  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FP075

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/210/