Accession Data:
Crossandra nilotica Oliver
- Common Name: Firecracker Plant
- Family: Acanthaceae Juss.
- Synonym(s): Barleria rhynchocarpa Klotzsch
- Country of Origin: tropical east Africa, Mozambique
- Description: Seed capsule explosively expel seeds when wetted. Trichomes on wet seed stand on end as a mechanism for retaining as much moisture as possible during germination.
- Culture: The best time to harvest Crossandra nilotica fruits is when they have dried on the inflorescence. Ideally let as much of the inflorescence dry as possible. That is, don't pick the fruit at the top of the inflorescence until the lower fruit has mostly, if not completely, turned brown also. If you pick the fruit green it will not pop (dehisce) properly, if at all. Again it is probably better to pick the fruit when the whole inflorescence, including the inflorescence stalk (peduncle?) has dried also. It better to have some fruit pop prematurely while you dry it in a paper bag than to have none pop when it is in someones hand (experience tells us this!). We find that the fruit are easier to handle if the sepals and bracts, which can remain connected to the fruit, have been removed from the base to make for a cleaner demonstration. The best way I have found to do this is to reach down to the base of the mature dry fruit with my thumb and forefinger and slide the bracts etc. off of the fruit. If you pinch the fruit the you run the risk of premature dehiscence. 1
- USDA Zone: 10a-11
Accession Data:
- Accession # 199900120
- Source: Tim Metcalf - UC Davis ex Hortus Botanic
- Recorded Vouchers:
- Voucher 217607 at George Safford Torrey Herbarium (CONN). Specimen collected 6 July 2010. Herbarium Image
- Accession Date: 08-16-1999
- Bench: 1101 - AFR:East Bench NN
- Currently: active - healthy
- Qty: 3 confirmed on 04-07-2025
Classification:
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- SubClass: euasterid I
- Order: Lamiales
- SubOrder:
- Family: Acanthaceae
- SubFamily: Acanthoideae
- Tribe: Acantheae
- SubTribe:
Flowering Data:
This accession has been observed in bloom on:| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References (internal):
- EEB 3271 - Systematic Botany
- Plants with Vouchers deposited in CONN
- Examples of Plant Seed Dispersal Mechanisms & Strategies
- EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: Burundi / Congo / Rwanda / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Sudan / Kenya / Tanzania / Uganda / Angola / Malawi / Zambia
References (external):
- Email correspondence with Ernesto Sandoval - UC-Davis - 3/20/2000
- The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Wednesday, September 07, 2016.
- Crossandra nilotica at ARS-GRIN. Last accessed on Wednesday, September 07, 2016.
data regenerated on Fri, 11 Apr 2025 15:57:25 -0400 [bcm v4.0]
Images:
Additional images for this accession:
Click on thumbnails to enlarge
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W/C = Wild Collected
= indicates flowering in past 14 days
= images available for this accession
= map available for this accession
= accession added within past 90 days