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Dorstenia is a genus of about 120 to 170 species in the fig and mulberry family, mostly grown for their unusual flower and fruit structures and compact growth. Most commonly grown members are small tropical herbs or shrubs that need warmth, humidity and bright light indoors.
Dorstenia is a genus within the mulberry family, Moraceae. Depending on the author, there are said to be 100 to 170 species within this genus, second only in number to the genus Ficus within Moraceae. Plants of the World Online currently accepts 122 species. Dorstenia species are mainly known for their unusual inflorescences and growth habits. Dorstenia is named in honor of the German physician and botanist Theodor Dorsten (1492–1552). The type species is Dorstenia contrajerva.
The species are fairly equally distributed between the Afrotropics and Neotropics. Only one species grows east of Arabia, in the tropical forests of Southern India and Sri Lanka.
South American species such as Dorstenia contrajerva and Dorstenia brasiliensis are a source of the herbal preparation contrayerva that has been used as a tonic and febrifuge, and as an antidote in South American folk medicine.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dorstenia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
