Aphelandra
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Aphelandra is a genus of plants from the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae). It contains around 170 to 180 species. The botanical generic name is derived from the Greek words aphéles for simple and anér , andrós for man. For the genus, the German name “glossy bulb” is occasionally used, but this is actually only the common name for the most common type of houseplant, the glossy bulb ( Aphelandra squarrosa ); the common name refers to the coarse, shiny bracts of the conspicuous inflorescence of this one species.
description
Aphelandra species usually grow as upright shrubs , semi-shrubs or perennial herbaceous plants that are woody at their base . The opposite arranged and stalked leaves are usually simple and relatively large. The leaf margins are smooth, lobed, notched or toothed spiky. Stipules are missing.
The flowers are in terminal or lateral spike-like inflorescences . The mostly large, conspicuous bracts have a smooth to toothed edge; their arrangement gives the inflorescence a square appearance in many species. The sessile, often large, hermaphrodite flowers are five-fold and zygomorphic . The five sepals are more or less the same or one sepal lobe is significantly wider. The five petals are tubular to funnel-shaped fused. The corolla tube is straight or curved. The corolla tube ends with two lips. The upright upper lip is at most slightly bilobed. The lower lip, sometimes curved back, has three lobes. The color of the petals ranges from white or yellow to orange to red. The four fertile stamens protrude from the crown or are shorter than the lower lip. Two carpels have become a top permanent ovary grown with two ovules per ovary chamber. The long style ends in a scar that is at most weakly bilobed. Pollination takes place by birds ( ornithophilia ).
The two-compartment capsule fruits contain four seeds . The seeds are silk-haired. The unit of dissemination ( diaspore ) is the seed.
Distribution and systematics
The Aphelandra species are common in the Neotropics , except in the Caribbean islands.
The genus Aphelandra belongs to the tribe Acantheae in the subfamily Acanthoideae.
Synonyms for Aphelandra R.Br. are: Amathea Raf. , Cuenotia Rizzini , Hemisandra Scheidw. , Hydromestus Scheidw. , Lagochilium Nees , Lepidacanthus C.Presl , Odontophyllum Sreem. , Sreemadhavana Rauschert , Strobilorhachis Klotzsch , Synandra Schrad.
Selected species
There are around 170 to 180 valid species in the genus Aphelandra . Here is a selection:
- Aphelandra acanthifolia Hook.
- Aphelandra acanthus Nees
- Aphelandra aurantiaca (Scheidw.) Lindl. : It occurs from Mexico to Brazil.
- Aphelandra benoistii Wassh.
- Aphelandra chrysantha Wassh.
- Aphelandra cirsioides Lindau
- Aphelandra flava Nees : It occurs in Colombia.
- Aphelandra formosa (Humboldt & Bonpland) Nees
- Aphelandra gigantiflora Lindau
- Aphelandra golfodulcensis McDade
- Aphelandra grangeri Leonard
- Aphelandra hartwegiana Nees
- Aphelandra lingua-bovis Leonard
- Aphelandra mutisii Leonard
- Aphelandra phaina Wassh.
- Aphelandra pulcherrima (Jacq.) Kunth (Syn .: Aphelandra incerta Leonard ): It occurs in South America and on Trinidad and Tobago.
- Aphelandra roezlii Carrière
- Aphelandra scabra (Vahl) Sm .: It occurs from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.
- Aphelandra sinclairiana Nees : It occurs in Costa Rica and Panama.
- Glossy bulb ( Aphelandra squarrosa Nees ): It occurs in Brazil.
- Aphelandra superba Lindau
- Aphelandra tetragona (Vahl) Nees : It occurs in Venezuela.
photos
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- Dieter C. Wasshausen: The Genus Aphelandra (Acanthaceae) , in Smithsonian Contributions to Botany , 18, Washington, 1975: pp. 1–157.
- Kamal Akhtar Malik & Abdul Ghafoor: Aphelandra in the Flora of Pakistan : Online.
- Entry on GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) - Aphelandra .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Aphelandra in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
