Graptophyllum
(from grapho, to write, and phyllon, a leaf; referring to the markings on the leaves). SYN. Earlia. ORD. Acanthaceae. A genus comprising four or five species of ornamental stove evergreen glabrous shrubs, natives of Australia or the Pacific Islands. Flowers red, shortly pedicellate. Leaves opposite, entire or (in one species) spinose-dentate, generally spotted. The plants thrive in a compost of peat and loam. Cuttings of rather firm young shoots, taken with a heel, will root, if inserted in sand, under a bell glass, in heat.
G. Earlii (Earl's). fl. of a rich red, solitary in the axils, or in clusters of very few. l. oblong-elliptical, acute or mucronulate, entire, or with a few very small acute teeth. h. 10ft. to 15ft. A beautiful glabrous shrub or tree. Australia. SYN. Earlia excelsa.
G. hortense (garden).* Caricature Plant. fl. crimson, inflated at the throat, whorled, in axillary and terminal racemes. July and August. l. elliptical, variegated. 1780. (B. R. 1227, under name of Justicia picta.) This species-its native country is unknown-is largely cultivated throughout the tropics for the beauty of its foliage. A variety, with purplish leaves and blood-coloured veins, is figured in B. M. 1870, under name of Justicia picta lurido-sanguinea.
G. medio-auratum. A synonym of Aphelandra medio-aurata.