Family:
Verbenaceae J.St.-Hil.

Phyla Lour.

This genus is accepted, and its native range is Tropics & Subtropics.

[FTEA]

Verbenaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1992

Morphology General Habit
Trailing perennial herbs with angular stems rooting at the nodes
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, simple, subentire to toothed, mostly tapering into an obscure petiole; lamina with sparse to dense adpressed medifixed hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences ± long-pedunculate axillary short ovoid to cylindric very dense bracteate spikes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx membranous, 2-lobed, compressed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla with short tube and spreading somewhat irregularly 4-lobed white or purple limb
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4, included
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit of 2 nutlets enveloped by the persistent calyx.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herbs with indumentum of medifixed hairs; stems prostrate, rooting at the nodes
Morphology Leaves
Leaves mostly toothed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers in axillary pedunculate dense bracteolate spikes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx membranous, 2-lobed, flattened
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla with short tube and irregularly 4-lobed limb
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4, included
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit of 2 nutlets enclosed by persistent calyx.
Distribution
Some 6 species, mainly American, with one species now widespread in warmer regions throughout the world.

[FZ]

Flora Zambesiaca. Vol 8, Pt 7. Avicenniaceae, R. Fernandes. Nesogenaceae, M.A. Diniz. Verbenaceae, R. Fernandes. Lamiaceae, R. Fernandes. 2005.

Morphology General Habit
Prostrate perennial herbs with woody taproots; indumentum of sparse to closely spaced appressed medifixed hairs or plants glabrous Prostrate perennial herbs with woody taproots; indumentum of sparse to closely spaced appressed medifixed hairs or plants glabrous.
Morphology Stem
Stems trailing, rooting at the nodes; branches short, ascending Stems trailing, rooting at the nodes; branches short, ascending.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, simple, shortly petiolate or subsessile, serrate Leaves opposite, simple, shortly petiolate or subsessile, serrate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary 1-carpellate, carpel 2-locular, each locule 1-ovulate; style short, undivided; stigma thick, obliquely capitate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit a schizocarp, compressed oblong, separating at maturity into two 1-locular mericarps; mericarps with a dry hard pericarp, semi ovoid, flat on the commissural face, rounded and smooth on the dorsal face, glabrous. Fruit a schizocarp, compressed oblong, separating at maturity into two 1-locular mericarps; mericarps with a dry hard pericarp, semi ovoid, flat on the commissural face, rounded and smooth on the dorsal face, glabrous.
Distribution
A genus of c. 10 species in tropical and subtropical America, with 1 species widespread throughout the warmer parts of the world. A genus of c. 10 species in tropical and subtropical America, with 1 species widespread throughout the warmer parts of the world.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences axillary, pedunculate, spicate; spikes short, dense, ovoid becoming cylindric after anthesis, with bracts closely imbricate. Inflorescences axillary, pedunculate, spicate; spikes short, dense, ovoid becoming cylindric after anthesis, with bracts closely imbricate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers small, sessile, each solitary in the axil of a bract. Flowers small, sessile, each solitary in the axil of a bract
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx membranous, dorsiventrally flattened, 2-lobed, persistent. Calyx membranous, dorsiventrally flattened, 2-lobed, persistent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla usually white, becoming rose-coloured; tube straight or curved, cylindric or widening toward the apex; limb oblique, c. 2-lipped, with the (upper) adaxial lip entire, emarginate or 2-lobed, and the lower (abaxial) lip 3-lobed with the median lobe usually larger than the others. Corolla usually white, becoming rose-coloured; tube straight or curved, cylindric or widening toward the apex; limb oblique, c. 2-lipped, with the (upper) adaxial lip entire, emarginate or 2-lobed, and the lower (abaxial) lip 3-lobed with the median lobe usually larger than the others
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4, included or somewhat exserted. Stamens 4, included or somewhat exserted
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 1-carpellate, carpel 2-locular, each locule 1-ovulate; style short, undivided; stigma thick, obliquely capitate.

Native to:

Alabama, Albania, Aldabra, Algeria, Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Aruba, Assam, Bahamas, Baleares, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Burkina, Burundi, California, Cambodia, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Caroline Is., Cayman Is., Central African Repu, Chad, Chagos Archipelago, Chile Central, Chile North, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colombia, Colorado, Corse, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, District of Columbia, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Florida, Free State, French Guiana, Galápagos, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf States, Guyana, Hainan, Haiti, Honduras, Illinois, India, Indiana, Iowa, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kansas, Kentucky, Kenya, Kriti, KwaZulu-Natal, Laccadive Is., Lebanon-Syria, Leeward Is., Lesotho, Lesser Sunda Is., Liberia, Libya, Louisiana, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Maldives, Mali, Marianas, Maryland, Mauritania, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nansei-shoto, Nebraska, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Nevada, New Guinea, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, Nicaragua, Nicobar Is., Niger, Nigeria, North Carolina, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oman, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Panamá, Paraguay, Pennsylvania, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sicilia, Sinai, Socotra, Solomon Is., Somalia, South Carolina, South China Sea, South Dakota, Southwest Caribbean, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey-in-Europe, Turks-Caicos Is., Uganda, Uruguay, Utah, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Virginia, West Himalaya, West Virginia, Western Australia, Windward Is., Wisconsin, Wyoming, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Introduced into:

Canary Is., Cocos (Keeling) Is., East Aegean Is., France, Great Britain, Hawaii, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Portugal, Sardegna, South Australia, St.Helena, Victoria

Phyla Lour. appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Fl. Cochinch.: 66 (1790)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • O'Leary, N. & Múlgura, M.E. (2011). A taxonomic revision of the genus Phyla (Verbenaceae) Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 98: 578-596.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • Fl. Cochinch. 66 (1790)
  • Greene in Pittonia 4: 48 (1899).

Flora Zambesiaca

  • Atkins in Kadereit (ed.), Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. (Kubitzki, ed. in chief) VII: 462 (2004).
  • Fl. Cochinch.: 66 (1790).
  • Kadereit (ed.), Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. (Kubitzki, ed. in chief) VII : 462 (2004).

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, (2000) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Fl. Cochinch.: 66 (1790)
  • Greene in Pittonia 4: 45–48 (1899)

  • Flora Zambesiaca

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

  • Flora of Somalia

    Flora of Somalia
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

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

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0