Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Netherlands

Family: Malvaceae (Mallow family)

Synonym: Goethea strictiflora

Distribution: Brazil

Life form: Shrub

Comments: Pavonia is a genus containing nearly 300 species that can be found throughout the tropics and subtropics. Originally, it comes from the forests of Brazil, where it is quite rare. The plant is named after Spanish botanist José Antonio Pavón Jiménez, who searched for plants in Peru and Chile between 1777 and 1788. The flowers grow directly on the main stem, which is also where the green fruits appear later. The plant was also called Goethea strictiflora, after Johan Wolfgang von Goethe. This German researcher, philosopher and writer saw the plants on his travels through Brazil and was very fond of it.