Mussaenda x philippica ‘Queen Sirikit’ is a deciduous, large flowering shrub to small tree, up to 10 feet high with yellow flowers and white petaloids picoteed with dark pink. It is a horticultural hybrid between Mussaenda philippica var. aurorae (a Philippine species) and Mussaenda erythrophylla (an African species) (Rosario, 1998; Clay and Hubbard, 1977). It was developed in the Philippines and named after Queen Sirikit of Thailand in 1963 when she visited the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture in 1963 (Rosario, 1998).

Common name: mussaenda, tropical dogwood, buddha’s lamp, donya/doña

Scientific name: Mussaenda x philippica ‘Queen Sirikit’, Mussaenda ‘Queen Sirikit’

Family: Rubiaceae (Coffee family)

Light requirement: Full sun, partial shade, full shade

Water requirement: High, Medium, Low

Season of flowering: July to March, defoliates during the dry summer months.

Ornamental use: Landscape hedge, screen, mass plantings, specimen plant

Other uses: None

Propagation: Airlayers, cuttings

Photographer: Orville Baldos

Place and Date: Ornamental Crops Nursery, Los Baños, Philippines, September 12, 2004

References:

Clay, H.F. and J.C. Hubbard. 1977. The Hawai’i Garden: Tropical Shrubs. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Rosario, T.L. 1998. Ornamental Mussaendas of the Philippines, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines.