50- Batata-de-perdiz  - Sinningia allagophylla (Mart.) Wiehler (GESNERIACEAE)

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Erupting or terrestrial herb, 15 cm, annual, erect, green to reddish, with tuber. Verticilated leaves, sometimes opposite or alternating, with 4 to 10 × 1.5 to 3 cm, rounded and sharp at the apex, wavy margin, upper face with many soft hairs, lower face with few hairs. Flowers in groups, from 10 to 20 cm, with isolated flowers, of a characteristic shape, orange-red, covered with hairiness, with the older ones below and the younger ones above.

 

Distribution: Very typical of rural formations of cerrado and rocky outcrops of the Atlantic forest, in the Midwest, South and Southeast regions.

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Situation in São Paulo: Difficult to be seen, it seems to be rare in the city. The greatest chance of visualization occurs in early spring, when the buds and flowers come out. In the fall she already loses her aerial part and sleeps in the winter, disappearing completely. A reason to look rare in the city, but I have seen it in several different places.

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How to plant: The transplant, bringing the plant with the rhizome intact, in the shape of a ball, is easy. It is very adapted to an acidic soil, deficient in nutrients and with high aluminum content, that is, the red soil of the cerrado, but it accepts a little organic matter.

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Uses: Juicy in appearance, with great potential for cultivation as an ornamental.

 

CHAUTEMS, A. (COORD.) GESNERIACEAE IN: WANDERLEY, MGL ET AL. FANEROGAMIC FLORA OF THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO. INSTITUTE OF BOTANICS, SÃO PAULO, VOL. 3, PP: 75-104, 2003.