Acanthaceae
Odontonema

Odontonema cuspidatum (Nees) Kuntze

First published in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 494 (1891)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central & S. Mexico to Honduras. It is a subshrub or shrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Flora Zambesiaca Acanthaceae (part 2) by Iain Darbyshire, Kaj Vollesen and Ensermu Kelbessa

Morphology General Habit
Shrub resembling O. callistachyum but inflorescence rachis, bracts, etc. less densely pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla red, 21–35 mm long, tube to 27 mm long, upper lip 2–5 mm long, lower lip with lobes 2.5–6 mm long.
Distribution
Native of Mexico and possibly the West Indies. Widely cultivated in the tropics.
Vernacular
Fire Spike, Mottled Toothedthread or Cardinal's Guard.
[FZ]

Acanthaceae, H. Heine. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Note
Cultivated as an ornamental.
[FWTA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images