BSA Plant Images Online - A Flower of Tibouchina semidecandra
A flower of Tibouchina semidecandra, a well-known ornamental from southeastern Brazil. Tibouchinais a member of the large tropical family Melastomataceae and together with other Melastomeae has been regarded as representing a relatively basal element of the family. Molecular evidence suggests that Tibouchina, Melastoma, Osbeckia, and other Melastomeae represent a derived clade of Melastomataceae that only recently reached Africa and tropical Asia.