Acanthaceae
Strobilanthes
Strobilanthes auriculata

Strobilanthes auriculata var. dyeriana (Mast.) J.R.I.Wood

First published in Kew Bull. 58: 92 (2003)
This variety is accepted
The native range of this variety is Bangladesh to Thailand. It is a subshrub or shrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or subshrub; cystoliths present.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves variegated, dark green with deep pink or purple blotching above when young, becoming whitish on older leaves, elliptic, 12–30 cm long, attenuate and usually with sessile auriculate base, margin serrulate, apex acuminate, upper surface sparsely pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a pedunculate axillary or terminal spike, subtended by a series of foliose bracts resembling reduced leaves; floral bracts imbricate, obovate, apex acute to emarginate, sometimes reflexed, surface densely pilose and/or pubescent including glandular hairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx with 5 linear-spathulate lobes, posterior 3 lobes often united in lower half, as densely hairy as bracts.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla 25–38 mm long, blue to pale purple, pubescent; tube curved, basal tube narrowly cylindrical, throat markedly ventricose, limb of 5 short subregular reflexed lobes.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4, didynamous, all included.
Distribution
Native of Burma and Thailand; the species as a whole more widespread in Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia. Commonly cultivated in the tropics.
Vernacular
Aluminium Plant.
[FZ]

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: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Common Names

english
Persian shield

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

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 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 2026. 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 Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Kew's Living Collection Database

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. 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