Please, could you identify?

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by Tirthankar, Feb 23, 2013.

  1. Tirthankar

    Tirthankar New Member

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    Absolutely red leaves.Red stem.Small herbaceous plant. Never seen them growing more than three feet tall. I am growing it in a pot in my third floor balcony. The small leaves - not more than one inch long - are seen in the photo to have become spoon-shaped because of wilting. If watered well they are otherwise quite flat. Never seen any flowers but that is no guarantee it is not a flowering plant. Could anyone identify? Junglekeeper?
     

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  2. Andrey Zharkikh

    Andrey Zharkikh Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Some Berberis, Berberis thunbergii, maybe.
     
  3. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Sorry, not Berberis, with those opposite leaves!

    Not sure what it is though, unfortunately.
     
  4. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    You'd have mentioned if it was fragrant, right? It looks sort of Marjoram-like (Lamiaceae), not that I can find any purple-leafed herbs like that with entire leaf margins.
     
  5. Tirthankar

    Tirthankar New Member

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    No fragrance whatsoever, sir.
     
  6. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Could it be Iresine herbstii? That leaf shape and the colour seem right.
     
  7. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    If it isn't, at least that's the one I've been trying to think of all weekend! Often grown here as houseplants, so commonly seen leggy like that. Amaranthaceae.
     
  8. Tirthankar

    Tirthankar New Member

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    It may be some plant of the Amaranthaceae family but not Iresine Herbstii. After checking with many images i find that the leaf veins are pronounced in Herbstii but in my plant they are not distinguishable. Also the colour of my plant is not purple but deep red. In fact deep blood red. Thanks all the same.
     

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