Deppea splendens

Vegetative characteristics Deppea splendens is an evergreen, tall shrub or tree with glabrous twigs. elliptic to ovate-elliptic leaves with an acuminate apex are 4.5–15 cm long, and 0.8-6 cm wide. bear 16–25 The compressed, ellipsoid, 6–8 mm long, and 5–7 mm wide loculicidal capsule fruit bears dark brown, 0.6–1 mm long seeds. ==Taxonomy==

It was described by Dennis Eugene Breedlove and David H. Lorence in 1987. Dennis Breedlove was a botanist at the California Academy of Science researching plants and ethnobotany in Chiapas when he discovered it in 1972 in the Motozintla de Mendoza municipality; he brought seeds of the then undescribed shrub to San Francisco in 1981 (he described it formally in 1987). That seed was grown at the University of California Botanical Garden. All plants in existence are from that introduction. It is now grown widely grown, including in the San Francisco Conservatory of flowers, The San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, and at the Huntington in Southern California. Within the subfamily Dialypetalanthoideae it is placed in the tribe Hamelieae. Etymology The specific epithet splendens means shining or brilliant. ==Distribution and habitat==

It was once native to high elevation cloud forest in the state Chiapas, Mexico, but has been presumed extinct in the wild since its habitat was cleared for farmland. It is now found only in horticulture, although efforts have been made to reintroduce it in Mexico. ==Conservation==

The only known population was destroyed for farmland. It only persists in ex-situ collections Deppea splendens is self-incompatible, but several clones are known to exist. It can also be propagated vegetatively. ==Ecology==

The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. ==Cultivation==

It can be easily cultivated in well-drained, nutrient rich substrate under bright and warm conditions, but does not tolerate consistently hot and humid climates. ==References==