Home | > | List of families | > | Acanthaceae | > | Blepharis | > | integrifolia |
Synonyms: |
Acanthus integrifolius L.f. Blepharis setosa Nees |
Common names: | |
Frequency: | |
Status: | Native |
Description: |
Suberect or procumbent perennial herb, sometimes mat-forming-forming. Stems up to 40 cm long, more or less densely hairy. Leaves linear to elliptic or slightly obovate, up 6 cm long, more or less densely hairy, roughly above and on the edges; margin entire, rolled under. Flowers solitary. Bracts in 4 or 5 pairs, greenish to brown, sometimes with purple veins and blotches, oblong-elliptic to obovate, ending in a recurved bristle with 3-7 purple-red bristles, up to 3 mm long, on each side of the margin. Corolla pale blue to mauve or purple, with darker veins, 8-22 mm long; lip ovate-spathulate, hairy on both sides, 4-10 mm wide, central lobe longer and narrower than side lobes. See B. transvaalensis for comparison. |
Notes: | |
Derivation of specific name: | integrifolia: with entire leaves |
Habitat: | In grassland and various types of deciduous woodland, often in overgrazed and disturbed areas, where it may act as a coloniser. |
Altitude range: (metres) | Up to 1500 m |
Flowering time: | |
Worldwide distribution: | Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, South Africa. Also in India and Sri Lanka. |
Zimbabwe distribution: | W,S |
Growth form(s): | |
Endemic status: | |
Red data list status: | |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Literature: |
Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 6. Golding, J.S. (ed.) (2002). Namibia Plant Red Data List. Southern African Plant Red Data Lists. SABONET 14 Page 73. Heath, A. & Heath, R. (2009). Field Guide to the Plants of Northern Botswana including the Okavango Delta Kew Publishing Page 23. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 13. Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 17. Vollesen, K. (2000). Blepharis (Acanthaceae). A taxonomic revision. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pages 173 - 179. (Includes a picture). Vollesen, K. (2013). Acanthaceae (Part 1) Flora Zambesiaca 8(5) Pages 71 - 72. |
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