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Melastomes

Melastoma

Melastomes
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0

Melastoma is a genus of over 100 shrubs and small trees in the family Melastomataceae, native across tropical Asia to Australia and the Pacific, prized for bright purple flowers. Commonly grown members are warm, sun-loving shrubs; some species can become invasive.

Family
Melastomataceae (Melastomat family)
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep soil evenly moist during the growing season and let the top layer dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, slightly acidic, humus-rich potting or garden mix.
Temperature
18–32 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate

About

Melastoma is a genus in the family Melastomataceae. It has over 100 species distributed around Southeast Asia, India, north to Japan, south to Australia and the Pacific Islands. The number of species should probably be reduced according to some sources. Many species have been planted around the world for the aesthetic value of their bright purple flowers.

Species in this genus are native to temperate and tropical Asia, Seychelles, Pacific and Australasia. Several have the capacity to become invasive species, in Hawaii and other areas.

Other Melastoma plants

Melastoma affine · Malabar melastome

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Melastoma 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.

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