Paederia FOETIDA

Paederia FOETIDA - Paederia foetida, Skunkvine, Stinkvine.

Paederia is a genus of plants in the family Rubiaceae, comprising about 14 species. Native habitat is tropical Asia. Scandent shrubs or subshrubs with twining stems, with foul-smelling leaves arranged decussately (rarely in whorls of 3), usually petiolate. Inflorescences terminal and/or axillary, multiflorous or few-flowered. Flowers 5-petaled. Calyx with small or slightly enlarged lobes. Corolla whitish or pinkish and always with a dark purple or dark maroon center, the tube funnelform, hairy inside. Fruits globose or laterally compressed - ovoid.

Seeds are pre-scarified (nicked or filed), soaked for 24 hours in warm water (they should increase slightly in volume), then sown to a depth of 1 cm (0.4 in) in moist nutrient soil. They are moistened with a spray bottle, covered with film, and germinated in light at a temperature of 23-28 °C (73-82 °F). Seedlings need ventilation. Overwatering and desiccation of sowings must be avoided.

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Paederia can also be grown indoors. It requires warm and bright conditions year-round. Watering is regular during the warm season, along with regular feeding with organic-mineral fertilizers.

Paederia is quite an aggressive and undemanding plant. It can grow in shade, on trees, invades even pastures, and grows along roadsides and on power lines. However, it is cultivated as a medicinal and ornamental plant, especially in the southern United States and Hawaii.