These lovely little succulent plants occupy the open areas along the coast, growing around grassy areas away from direct seawater contact. My first thought when i saw them was Coleus/Plectranthus, so i went through flora of Taiwan and surprisingly only saw one species listed. going over to efloras website i saw 6 and searched them out. looking here i am thinking it is C. amboinicus. Would anyone here agree? http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/taiwania/pdf/tai.1998.43.1.38.pdf
I am looking into Coleus formosanus, thank you. but i did find one site saying that Coleus formosanus is a synonym of Plectranthus scutellarioides...this species is like a big mother of synonyms and includes C. blumei. see here: http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-45931 I have seen these species and they look nothing like that of the plants i photographed above. one big difference is the ones i posted above are very succulent and drought tolerant. Their leaves are thick like that of Plectranthus amboinicus. Actually me and my wife thought this plant was Plectranthus amboinicus except there is almost no scent to the plant i posted above, all the Plectranthus amboinicus we have grown are VERY aromatic. I have read some Taiwanese websites that mention plants on this island being the same as the medicinal plants used on Taiwan proper (Plectranthus amboinicus), and everything seems similar to me except the fact these ones had no scent. Also the shade of green is lighter in these Orchid Island plants, but i think this is more due to greater sunlight out on the open coastline compared to a sheltered garden where Plectranthus amboinicus is often grown. Any thoughts? Thanks for your reply :)
