Tibouchina urvilleana


Tibouchina urvilleana is a species of flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae, native to Brazil. Growing to tall by wide, it is a sprawling evergreen shrub with longitudinally veined, dark green hairy leaves. Clusters of brilliant purple flowers up to in diameter, with black stamens, are borne throughout summer and autumn.
Common names include:
The specific epithet urvilleana commemorates the 19th-century French explorer and botanist Jules Dumont d'Urville.

Cultivation

Tibouchina urvilleana has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
With a minimum temperature of, it requires some winter protection, and in temperate areas is often grown in a conservatory. However, it can also be grown outside in a sunny, sheltered spot. Plants are best grown in acidic and well-drained soils and spread by suckers. It can be trained as a vine and grown on a trellis.