Ixora sp.
Jungle Flame, Needle FlowerFamily: Rubiaceae
Origin: India and tropical Africa
Ixora - from the name of an Indian deity - is a genus with about 400 species, some of which rival Hibiscus as garden shrubs. I.javanica, one of the most often used, is a sizeable shrub with largish, pointed leaves and red-orange or pure red flowers that appear in rounded clusters of as many as sixty at the tips of the branches. I.cocdnea is smaller, with glossy, more ovate leaves; usually red, but there are white, pink, yellow, and orange varieties, and a dwarf often used as a low hedge. I.jinlaysoniana, a native of Thailand, can become a small tree and has large, fragrant, pure white flowers. In full sun or light shade, Ixora flowers almost continuously needing little pruning except for a more formal shape. When grown as a house plant, it needs high humidity, warm temperatures, and exposure to strong light. Propagation is easiest by air-layering. Species and varieties:
Ixora casei
Ixora macrothyrsa
Similar plants:
- Duperrea pavettifolia, Ixora pavettifolia, Mussaenda pavettifolia (West Indian Jasmine)
- Ixora chinensis (Jungle Flame, Needle Flower, Flame of the Woods, Jungle Geranium)
- Ixora coccinea (Jungle flame, Needle flower, Flame of the Woods, Jungle Geranium)
- Ixora congesta, Ixora griffithiana (Ixora Thai Flame)
- Ixora ebracteata (White Ixora)
- Ixora finlaysoniana, Ixora fragrans (Fragrant Ixora)
- Ixora hybrid Crimson Star (Crimson Star)
- Ixora hybrid Hindu Rope (Ixora Hindu Rope)
- Ixora hybrid Sea Green (Ixora Sea Green)
- Ixora lobbii, Ixora taiwanensis (Glossy Pink Ixora)
