Gynura aurantiaca

Natural range and habitat of Gynura aurantiaca

Gynura aurantiaca is native to Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi. In wet tropical habitat, it grows as a shrub with long flexible stems that climb through surrounding vegetation.

Care for Gynura aurantiaca

• Light: Give it bright indirect light with gentle morning or late-day sun. The strongest purple colour develops in bright filtered light.
• Temperature and humidity: Keep temperatures around 18–26 °C. Provide extra warmth whenever conditions persist below 15 °C. Maintain roughly 60–80% humidity with light air circulation through the leaves. Keep the plant warm with high humidity. Protect it from cold draughts and very dry heated air.
• Water: Water when the surface of the mix has begun to dry. Soak the root ball evenly and let all excess water drain away.
• Potting mix: Use a loose houseplant mix with bark, perlite or another coarse material to keep air around the roots.
• Feeding: Feed lightly while new growth is forming.
• Pruning and support: Cut long shoots just above a leaf node to encourage fresh side shoots. Let stems trail or guide them through a small support for upright growth.
• Repotting: Repot when roots fill the container.
• Propagation: Use stem-tip cuttings, which root readily.

Problems to watch for with Gynura aurantiaca

• New leaves look greener and stems become long: The plant needs stronger light. Move it gradually into brighter filtered light so new leaves develop stronger purple colour.
• Leaves hang limp and the root ball is dry: The plant needs water. Soak the pot thoroughly, let it drain, and water a little sooner next time.
• Lower leaves yellow and stems soften while the mix stays wet: The mix has stayed wet for too long and root rot may be starting. Remove rotten roots back to firm healthy tissue with a clean tool, discard the rotten tissue, improve drainage, and repot in fresh mix.
• Fine webbing, pale speckles, sticky leaves or clusters of insects appear: Check for spider mites, aphids, whiteflies, scale or mealybugs. Isolate the plant, identify the pest, and repeat a suitable treatment as directed on the label.

Gynura aurantiaca is non-toxic to cats and dogs

• This plant is non-toxic to cats and dogs.
• Its effects on people are unclear, so keep it away from young children who may chew it.
• Eating a large amount can still cause an upset stomach. Seek medical or veterinary advice if symptoms continue.

Gynura aurantiaca: where the name comes from

Gynura combines Greek gyne, meaning female, with oura, meaning tail, referring to the elongated stigma in the flowers. The epithet aurantiaca means orange-coloured and refers to the flower heads.

Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini established the genus Gynura in 1825 in Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, second edition, volume 34, page 391.

Carl Ludwig Blume first described it as Cacalia aurantiaca in 1826 in Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indië, page 908. Augustin Pyramus de Candolle later placed it in Gynura as Gynura aurantiaca in 1838 in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, volume 6, page 300.