Monographs Details:
Authority:
Leonard, Emery C. 1958. The Acanthaceae of Colombia, III. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 31: 323-781.
Leonard, Emery C. 1958. The Acanthaceae of Colombia, III. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 31: 323-781.
Family:
Acanthaceae
Acanthaceae
Description:
Description - Stems more or less hexagonal in cross section; leaf blades entire or undulate, mostly ovate, petioled; flowers 1 to several, borne in often contracted cymes, these forming spikes or panicles subtended by an involucre of 2-4 pairs of conspicuous bracts; calyx 5-parted, hyaline; corollas narrow, slightly ampliate, the limb 2-lipped; stamens 2, the anther sacs often unequal, the longer one sometimes calcarate at base; staminodes none; capsules ovate or suborbicular, the placentae separating elastically from their walls and rupturing, on dehiscence, the cell wall of the capsule valve; seeds 2 or 4.
Description - Stems more or less hexagonal in cross section; leaf blades entire or undulate, mostly ovate, petioled; flowers1 several, borne in often contracted cymes, these forming spikes or panicles subtended by a involucre of 2-4 pairs of conspicuous bracts; calyx 5-parted, hyaline; corollas narrow, slightly ampliate, the limb 2-lipped; stamens 2, the anther sacs often unequal, the longer one sometimes calcarate at base; staminodes none; capsules ovate or suborbicular, the placentae separating elastically from their walls and rupturing, on dehiscence, the cell wall of the capsule valve; seeds 2 or 4.
Description - Stems more or less hexagonal in cross section; leaf blades entire or undulate, mostly ovate, petioled; flowers 1 to several, borne in often contracted cymes, these forming spikes or panicles subtended by an involucre of 2-4 pairs of conspicuous bracts; calyx 5-parted, hyaline; corollas narrow, slightly ampliate, the limb 2-lipped; stamens 2, the anther sacs often unequal, the longer one sometimes calcarate at base; staminodes none; capsules ovate or suborbicular, the placentae separating elastically from their walls and rupturing, on dehiscence, the cell wall of the capsule valve; seeds 2 or 4.
Description - Stems more or less hexagonal in cross section; leaf blades entire or undulate, mostly ovate, petioled; flowers1 several, borne in often contracted cymes, these forming spikes or panicles subtended by a involucre of 2-4 pairs of conspicuous bracts; calyx 5-parted, hyaline; corollas narrow, slightly ampliate, the limb 2-lipped; stamens 2, the anther sacs often unequal, the longer one sometimes calcarate at base; staminodes none; capsules ovate or suborbicular, the placentae separating elastically from their walls and rupturing, on dehiscence, the cell wall of the capsule valve; seeds 2 or 4.
Discussion:
Nearly 300 species of this genus have been described from the tropical and temperate regions of the world. The species are easily recognized by the hexagonal stems and the flattened bracted reduced cymes.
Nearly 300 species of this genus have been described from the tropical and temperate regions of the world. The species are easily recognized by the hexagonal stems and the flattened bracted reduced cymes.