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(Last Modified On 7/25/2013)
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(Last Modified On 7/25/2013)
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Genus
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Aphelandra R. Br.
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PlaceOfPublication
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Prodr. Fl. Nov. 475. 1810
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Note
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TYPE: Justicia pulcherrima (Jacq.) H.B.K.
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Description
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Shrubs or suffrutescent herbs. Leaves opposite; blades usually large, oblong to elliptic, the margins toothed, lobed, crenate or entire. Inflorescences of terminal or axillary spikes, the spikes often conspicuous with showy bracts and flowers;
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Habit
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Shrubs or suffrutescent herbs
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Description
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bracts most often imbricate, some species bearing dorsal clusters of submarginal glands which may be conspicuous, the margins of the bracts entire, toothed or ciliate; bractlets various, rudimentary in a few species. Flowers with 5-merous calyx, the segments separate nearly to the base, frequently lanceolate and striate veined, the posterior segment usually broader than the others; corolla straight or curved, the limb usually bilabiate, the upper lip erect, bilobed or entire, the lower lip reflexed or spreading, 3-lobed, the middle lobe often larger than the laterals; stamens 4, usually exserted, but usually not beyond the upper lip of the corolla, the anthers narrow, 1-celled, often pilose dorsally and held together at the apices by the intertwining hairs; capsules usually clavate, 4-seeded.
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Distribution
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Aphelandra is one of the larger genera of the family and is endemic to tropical America.
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Note
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Species of the genus are often quite showy, and yet they are seldom cultivated because of difficulties in cultivation. The leaves of this genus lack the cystoliths which characterize most genera of the family. The submarginal glands appearing on the bracts of many species have been observed in the field and in the greenhouse as extra-floral nectaries in A. deppeana and A. pulcherrima. This observation suggests that these glands should not be referred to as ocelli as in Leonard (1951-1958) and Wasshausen (1975).
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Reference
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Wasshausen, D. C. 1973. New species of Aphelandra. Phytologia 25: 465-502. Wasshausen, D. C. 1975. The genus Aphelandra. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 18: 1-134.
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Key
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a. Bracts toothed. b. Bracts with submarginal glands. c. Leaves narrow, not over 2 cm wide; corolla t...... 8. A. dukei cc. Leaves ovate to elliptic, to 8 cm wide; corolla to 3 cm long ...... 6. A. deppeana bb. Bracts without submarginal glands. d. Bracts under 15 mm long; corolla less than 2 cm long. e. Leaves mostly under 10 cm long; bracts over 12 mm long ...... 15. A. seibertii ee. Leaves 10 cm long; bracts under 9 mm long. f. Leaves pilose (shaggy, soft hairs) on both surfaces; rachis of the inflorescence with numerous glandular hairs ...... 18. A. tonduzii ff. Leaves sparingly strigose (appressed, straight hairs) above, stri- gose only at the veins beneath; rachis eglandular ...... 1. A. arnoldii dd. Bracts over 20 mm long; corolla over 5 cm long ...... 2. A. aurantiaca aa. Bracts entire. g. Bracts with submarginal glands. h. Submarginal glands consisting of dense clusters of numerous, minute glands appearing as a dull alveolar spot. i. Bracts over 20 mm long; calyx segments not conspicuously longer than the bracts ...... 5. A. darienensis ii. Bracts under 20 mm long; calyx segments conspicuously longer than the bracts. j. Corolla glabrous; bractlets over 3.5 mm wide ...... 10. A. hartwegiana jj. Corolla puberulous or papillose; bractlets under 3.5 mm wide. k. Flowering spike expanded; bracts not imbricate ...... 11. A. laxa kk. Flowering spike compressed; bracts imbricate. 1. Petioles short, to 1 cm long; corolla puberulous ...... 12. A . lingua-bovis 11. Petioles 2-8 cm long; corolla papillose. m. Bracts apically acuminate to acute; calyx under 12 mm long ...... 14. A. pulcherrima mm. Bracts apically obtuse; calyx over 15 mm long. n. Leaves crenate; bracts over 10 mm wide ...... 4. A . crenata nn. Leaves entire to undulate; bracts less than 10 mm wide ...... 3. A. campanensis hh. Submarginal glands represented by 1 or more well-defined elliptical, shiny areas. o. Bracts over 15 mm long; stemr densely velutinous ...... 16. A. sinclairiana oo. Bracts 10 mm long or less; stems hirsute, but not velutinous. p. Calyx conspicuously longer than the bracts. q. Corolla puberulous, without papilli; flowering spike ex- panded; bracts not imbricate ...... 9. A. gracilis qq. Corolla papillose; flowering spike compressed; bracts imbricate ...... 14. A. pulcherrima pp. Calyx not conspicuously longer than the bracts. r. Stem densely pilose; lower surface of leaf blades pilose ...... 13. A. pilosa rr. Stem hirsute or strigose, but not densely pilose; lower surface of leaf blades strigose or glabrous ...... 17. A. terryae gg. Bracts without submarginal glands. s. Bracts over 3 cm long; corolla over 3 cm long ...... 7. A. dolicantha ss. Bracts under 1 cm long; corolla under 2 cm long. t. Leaves apically acute, the lower surface strigose on the veins only; corolla red ...... 1. A. arnoldii tt. Leaves apically acuminate, the lower surface pilose; corolla white, becoming purplish with age ...... 18. A. tonduzii
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