Polka dot plant
Hypoestes phyllostachya
family
Acanthaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
NIL
For information only
Common names
Polka dot plant, Flamingo plant, Freckle face, Freckle plant, Freckleface, Measlesplant, Polka-dot plant.
A long-lived herbaceous plant growing up to 1 m tall. Its stems are somewhat four-angled and covered in long white hairs. Its paired leaves (up to 12 cm long) have dark green upper surfaces that are usually covered with numerous pinkish spots. Its pink or purplish flowers (about 2 cm long) are borne singly in the leaf forks. These flowers separate at the tip into two lobes, smaller lower lobe being bent backwards. Its fruit is a small hairless capsule (8-12 mm long).
Impact
Impact
"Polkadot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) is regarded as an environmental weed in parts of Queensland and New South Wales, and as a ""sleeper weed"" or potential environmental weed in other parts of Australia. It has escaped cultivation as a garden plant and has become naturalised along waterways, in riparian areas, in open woodlands and on rainforest margins in the warmer and wetter parts of eastern Australia. This species prefers shaded habitats and can form dense carpets of vegetation in the understorey of native bushland. It is currently of greatest concern in south-eastern Queensland, where it is listed among the top 200 most invasive plants species, and appears on numerous local environmental weed lists in this region (e.g. in the Gold Coast City, Redlands Shire, Cooloola Shire, Caboolture Shire and Maroochy Shire).
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
"Polkadot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) is regarded as an environmental weed in parts of Queensland and New South Wales, and as a ""sleeper weed"" or potential environmental weed in other parts of Australia. It has escaped cultivation as a garden plant and has become naturalised along waterways, in riparian areas, in open woodlands and on rainforest margins in the warmer and wetter parts of eastern Australia. This species prefers shaded habitats and can form dense carpets of vegetation in the understorey of native bushland. It is currently of greatest concern in south-eastern Queensland, where it is listed among the top 200 most invasive plants species, and appears on numerous local environmental weed lists in this region (e.g. in the Gold Coast City, Redlands Shire, Cooloola Shire, Caboolture Shire and Maroochy Shire).
