The Aluminium Plant or Persian Shield is now named Strobilanthes auriculata (Kew).
In Australia it is still known as Strobilanthes dyerianus.
Strobilanthes auriculata var. dyeriana is also a synonym for S. auriculata.
In Family Acanthaceae it is probably native to Myanmar and Thailand.
Fairly commonly cultivated it may be naturalised in Queensland.
The small evergreen shrubs are up to around 1 m high.
Leaves are opposite and in 4 ranks (decussate).
The elliptic to lance-shaped blades have no, or almost no petiole.
The largest leaves are 15 to 20 cm long but in each pair one is much smaller.
The round to wedge-shaped base often has 2 lobes (auricles).
The sometimes wavy edge has small teeth and the tip is pointed.
There are often a few very small simple hairs on one or both surfaces.
The cystoliths may be seen on both surfaces.
The lower surface is a bright reddish-purple with no markings.
The dark green upper surface has regular patterns of purple to pink blotches.
The markings become paler or whitish on the older lower leaves.
Inflorescences are short spikes from the axils of leaves from the tip of the stems to well down them.
Spikes, up to 10 cm long are on a peduncle around 3 cm long.
Like the stems the peduncles are 4-angled or ridged.
Flowers, directly attached to the inflorescence midrib have a floral bract under them.
The wide ovate to obovate green bracts can be up to around 1 cm long.
They have dense simple and longer glandular hairs.
The 5 pale green oblong sepals have their bases fused into 2 groups.
The upper lip has 2 lobes and the lower has 3 with the middle lobe being slightly longer.
The dense hair are like those on the bracts.
The around 3 cm long corolla has a basal tube with 5 lobes.
The funnel-shaped, slightly curved tube suddenly widens near the top.
The widening is mainly on one side forming a pouch-like area.
The spreading lobes are in an upper lip with 2 lobes and a lower with three.
Lobes are around 3 mm long and the edges may roll back.
The outer surface has short straight and curved simple hairs.
The inner surface is smooth apart from the long hairs near the filament bases.
These long simple hairs hold the slender style in place.
Petals are pale violet to lavender-blue with solid deep purple down the upper inner side of the tube.
The 4 stamens, in 2 unequal pairs lie wholly within the corolla tube.
One pair has 2 to 2.5 mm long filaments and the other pair 4 to 6 mm.
The paired pale oblong pollen sacs in each anther lie side by side.
They open through long slits.
The smooth oblong superior ovary is up to 1 cm high.
The 2 locules have 2 ovules each but not all may develop.
The thin, around 3 cm long style extends just past the corolla.
J.F.
