Vanhouttea leonii

In habitat
Seedling
Whole plant
A hybrid?
Feature table
External link
Publication and etymology

This picture, courtesy of Alain Chautems, shows Vanhouttea leonii in habitat. It appears we should be growing our vanhoutteas in the crevices of rocky outcrops, surrounded by plenty of weeds. The rocks may allow the plant to get plenty of sunlight while protecting the roots from drying out too much.

This picture shows a seedling, started from Brazil Plants seed. At this time [September 2013], the plant was about 14 cm [5.5 inches] tall, and growing in a 3-inch pot.

Vanhouttea leonii, at least under my conditions, seems to be shrubbier and more compact than other vanhoutteas.

This is my plant, photographed in September 2016. Obviously it is not a heavy bloomer.

Cutting the stems back after flowering keeps the plant relatively compact.

Mauro Peixoto believes that my plant may be a natural hybrid of the true Vanhouttea leonii and Vanhouttea pendula, which grows not too far from V. leonii. He bases this mostly on the corolla color, which differs a little from that of the parent plant (from where the seeds that I sowed were gathered).

Arguing against this is the shortness of the corolla on my plant (only 3 cm, while V. pendula corollas are 4 cm or more longer) and the corollas on my plant being held horizontally (as opposed to pendant on Vanhouttea pendula).

Feature table for Vanhouttea leonii

Plant Description
Growth	Indeterminate
Habit	Upright shrub
Leaves	Green on top, back paler.
Dormancy	No tuber
Flowering
Inflorescence	axillary cymes of 1-3 flowers
Flowering	Summer-autumn (in Brazil), according to publication
Flower	Tubular, orange, red, or maroon, about 3 cm [just over 1 inch] long (smaller than other vanhoutteas). Red striping on corolla interior.
Horticultural aspects
Hardiness	My plant has survived 32 F [0 C].
Germination	Fresh seed germinated in ten days.
From seed	Two and a half years to first flower. Plant grew much better outdoors. With better horticulture, probably would have bloomed sooner.
Recommended?	Yes, provisionally. So far, it has not bloomed heavily and the flowers are small. On the other hand, the habit is compact. Both foliage and flowers are attractive.
Botany
Taxonomic group	The free-calyx-lobe vanhouttea clade.
Pollinator	Probably hummingbirds.
Habitat	Eastern uplands of Minas Gerais, Brazil, above the tree line.
Nectaries	Five glands.

External Link

Mauro Peixoto's web site has a page about Vanhouttea leonii.

Publication

Alain Chautems described V. leonii in his 2002 paper. This species grows in Minas Gerais state of Brazil, in the same general area as V. pendula, namely the mountains near where the three states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro meet.