Acanthus sennii Chiov.

First published in Atti Reale Accad. Italia, Mem. Cl. Sci. Fis. 11: 50 (1940)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Ethiopia. It is a shrub and grows primarily in the subtropical 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: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Vollesen, K. (2007). Synopsis of the Species of Acanthus (Acanthaceae) in Tropical East and Northeast Africa and in Tropical Arabia. Kew Bulletin, 62(2), 233-249. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20443348

Type
Ethiopia, Addis Alem to Ambo, Gaggi, Senni 1767 (holotype FT!). A photograph of the holotype is at K.
Distribution
Endemic to the highlands of Ethiopia.
Ecology
Juniperus and Podocarpus forest, montane grassland and woodland in forest glades, secondary scrub, roadsides; 1700 - 3200 m.
Conservation
Ethiopian botanists (e.g. Ensermu Kelbessa, pers. comm.) have recently expressed concern about the effects of a rapidly increasing human population upon the habitats of Acanthus sennii. It is a characteristic and striking component of the vegetation in the grassland/forest margin mosaic in the Ethiopian highlands. This is a habitat which is increasingly being turned into farmland or cleared of unwanted "weeds" to improve grazing for domestic animals. A. sennii seems to a certain extent to be able to adapt to secondary vegetation types. There are recent collections from most of the species' distribution area, but because of its striking orange red flowers it is possibly overrepresented in the herbaria. Vivero et al. (2005: 11) consider it as Near Threatened (NT).
Note
Engler (1892: 390) cites Schimper 1535 and Steudner 1533 in his diagnosis of Acanthus arboreus var. ruber. The original material of both collections was destroyed in Berlin during the war, but the Steudner 1533 sheet at Kew is an excellent specimen for a lectotype. There are two sheets of Schimper 1535 at BM; they are both A. polystachius.
[KBu]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

    • Kew Bulletin
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/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