Hypoestes phyllostachya, the polka dot plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to South Africa, Madagascar, and south east Asia. The spots often merge into larger areas of colour. The genus name Hypoestes comes from the Greek hypo, meaning "under", and estia meaning "a house"; this refers to the calyxes being covered by bracts. The Latin specific epithet phyllostachya means “with a leaf spike”.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Hypoestes phyllostachya across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile2 classes
Pyridine alkaloids1
Aminoacids1
Documented compounds2 total
Compound
Class
Amount
Source
Betaine
present
LOTUS
Trigonelline
present
LOTUS
05DNA & barcoding10 specimens
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Hypoestes phyllostachya has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens10
Marker genes4
GenBank sequences10
eDNA detections6
Countries2
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK1★rbcL7★rbcLa★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualHypoestes phyllostachya carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references
2n 302×CCDB · book-fedorov · CCDB · Cave1956
CCDB · book-fedorov — Grant W. F. 1955
CCDB · Cave1956 — Grant
n 151×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl
CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — Daniel, T. F. & T. I. Chuang. 1998. Chromosome numbers of cultivated Acanthaceae and systematic implications. Pp. 309--330 in P. Mathew & M. Sivadasan (editors), Diversity and Taxonomy of Tropical Flowering Plants. Mentor Books, Calicut.
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy84% within 1 km
≤100 m 1 320≤1 km 395≤10 km 200>10 km 122
2 037 georeferenced · 699 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor2 736
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy81% within 1 km
≤100 m 97≤1 km 32≤10 km 27>10 km 4
160 georeferenced · 260 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence420
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Coordinate accuracy100% within 1 km
≤1 km 1
1 georeferenced · 2 without coordinates
Open the mapnot free-living3
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions37 of 70 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Saint Louis, US
56
Brisbane, AU
39
National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record
28
Durango, MX
22
Antiguo Cuscatlán, SV
21
Smithfield, AU
20
Mount Annan, AU
14
Mexico City, MX
12
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (MNCR)location not on record
11
Mexico City, MX
10
Universidad del Quindío (UniQuindío)location not on record
10
León, NI
10
Berlin, DE
9
CASlocation not on record
8
Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza (PBZT)location not on record
8
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
8
Toluca, MX
7
Universidad de Caldas (UCaldas)location not on record
6
Kew, GB
6
Plocation not on record
5
Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)location not on record
5
Canberra, AU
5
Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Región Xalapalocation not on record
4
Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record
4
Adelaide, AU
4
Puerto Ayora, EC
4
Durban, ZA
4
Tampa, US
3
Alexandria Universitylocation not on record
3
Altos de Pipe, VE
3
Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record
3
UNTNRlocation not on record
3
HUT Culture Collectionlocation not on record
3
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record
3
Auckland, NZ
3
Paris, FR
3
Kathmandu, NP
3
Universidade Federal de Juiz de Foralocation not on record
3
OTSlocation not on record
2
Cusco, PE
2
John T. Waterhouse Herbariumlocation not on record
2
Universiti Sains Malaysialocation not on record
2
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
2
Juriquilla, MX
2
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
2
San José, CR
2
Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH)location not on record
2
Herbario Selva Central Oxapampa - estación biológica del Jardín Botánico de Missourilocation not on record
1
Lake Charles, US
1
Sociedad para el Estudio de los Recursos Bióticos de Oaxaca, A. C.location not on record
1
Ciudad de México, MX
1
Bronx, US
1
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, MX
1
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, MX
1
Armidale, AU
1
CJBGlocation not on record
1
Lima, PE
1
San Francisco de Campeche, MX
1
JBRJlocation not on record
1
Department of Plant Resources, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratorieslocation not on record
1
Glocation not on record
1
University of Oxfordlocation not on record
1
Chapingo, MX
1
NSW Dept of Planning, Industry and Environmentlocation not on record
1
Palmerston, AU
1
Ann Arbor, US
1
Campo Mourão, BR
1
Riverside, US
1
UTFPR-CPlocation not on record
1
UTFPR-SLlocation not on record
1
70 institutions · 414 of 420 vouchered records shown · 6 without an institution code
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
09Environmental DNA6 detections
Where the DNA of Hypoestes phyllostachya was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found6
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 6 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median18.2 °C 18.2–18.2
Seasonal swing summer↔winter11.7 °C
Max temp (day)21.4 °C
Min temp (night)15.0 °C
Precipitation3.10 mm/mo
Air humidity59.8 %
Moisture balance-143 mm/mo
Vapour deficit839 Pa
Wind speed4.70 m/s
Cloud cover31.3 %
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 3 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation6 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility3 166 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI6 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics10 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype