Plectranthus scutellarioides (Coleus)

Coleus scutellarioides, commonly known as coleus or painted nettle, is a species of flowering plant within the Lamiaceae family — part of the mint and deadnettle family. Native to Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia, it is a bushy, compact, herbaceous, evergreen perennial shrub that grows up to 1 metre tall. It is widely grown for the highly decorative variegated leaves in cultivated varieties. The ornamental leaves have scalloped edges and produce various colours and beautiful patterns. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1763, as Ocimum scutellarioides, it was first introduced to Europe from Java in 1851 by a Dutch horticulturist. The genus Ocimum is best known for Ocimum basilicum, sweet basil, popular in Thai cuisine. Scutellarioides means ‘resembling the genus Scutellaria’, from the Latin scutella meaning a small dish or bowl. Coleus scutellarioides, under the name Coleus blumei, is said to have very mild relaxing and/or hallucinogenic effects when consumed.

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Specifications:

Paper
100% Cotton based, 320g, Acid-free, No optical brighteners. 

Printed Area
A4, 210mm x 297mm – Approximately 142mm x 210mm
A3, 297mm x 420mm – Approximately 230mm x 319mm

About the Collection

The Garden of Miss Joaquim Collection: Illustrated Botanical Prints

Agnes Joaquim was a Singapore-born Armenian who created what would become Singapore’s National Flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim (scientific name: Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim), in 1893. The artificial hybrid was recognised by the first director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, botanist Henry Ridley.

Agnes, the first woman in the world to create a hybrid orchid, was a well-known and successful horticulturist, garnering 70 horticultural awards from 1881 to 1899. The Garden of Miss Joaquim Collection of botanical prints commemorates her horticultural legacy and complements her story told in the book Agnes and Her Amazing Orchid.

In presenting Agnes’s award-winning plants in the illustrated collection, we looked at the newspaper records of the times, but they were of no use because they used common name descriptions of the plants, such as ‘rose’ and ‘durian’. So we turned to the Singapore Botanic Gardens and collaborated with a botanist to identify the likely species. To complete Agnes’s story, the collection includes two additional images: of Vanda Miss Joaquim’s parents, Papilionanthe teres (pod parent) and Papilionanthe hookeriana (pollen parent) — formerly in the genus Vanda — both of which may have been present in her award-winning floral bouquets or cut flowers. Waiwai Hove, a talented and respected botanical illustrator, was chosen to produce the prints.

*Disclaimer: Representative only based on subject. Not species definitive.

About the Illustrator

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Waiwai Hove developed a love for nature from a young age. Growing up surrounded by rich tropical flora and nurtured by her mother, a keen gardener, Waiwai has always held a special place for plants in her childhood memories. She holds a diploma in botanical illustration from the Society of Botanical Artists (UK), graduating in 2013 with a distinction and the highest marks in the history of the course. 

She has since worked for the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where highlights include illustrations for ‘30 Heritage Trees’ and more recently ‘15 Gingers’. Four of Waiwai’s ginger paintings were subsequently used for a series of stamps issued by Singapore Post in 2018. Since 2019, Waiwai has begun working on the cover illustrations of 14 volumes of The Flora of Singapore, to be published over the next few years. Her works are in numerous private collections and can also be found in publications by the National Parks Board and in the Shirley Sherwood Collection in Kew Gardens, UK.