Acanthaceae
Lankesteria

Lankesteria elegans (P.Beauv.) T.Anderson

First published in J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot. 7: 33 (1863)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. Tropical Africa to SW. Ethiopia. It is a scrambling subshrub or shrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Undershrub up to 4 ft. high, in forest undergrowth etc.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Spikes 2-7 in. long of orange- or pinkish-tinged slender tubular flowers 1 1/2 in. long enclosed in broad smooth but ciliate bracts.
[FWTA]

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]

Acanthaceae (part 2), Kaj Vollesen. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2008

Type
Type: “Benin”, Palisot de Beauvois s.n. (G, holo.; BM!, iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Erect (rarely scrambling) shrubby herb or shrub to 2 (?–4) m tall; young stems green, sparsely puberulous on two sides, older stems greyish to pale brown
Morphology Leaves
Leaves elliptic, largest 8–15 × 2.5–6 cm, apex cuspidate, base attenuate, decurrent to the 1–3 cm long petiole, glabrous (rarely with a few hairs on midrib)
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences terminal or also two axillary from uppermost pair of leaves, 3–15 cm long; peduncle to 1(–4) cm long; axis finely puberulous and with dense stalked capitate glands; bracts green, minutely puberulous and with scattered capitate glands (densest towards base), ovate-elliptic, 1.8–2.5 × 0.8–1.3 cm, acute and mucronate; bracteoles linear to narrowly triangular, 3–4 mm long, with similar indumentum
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 6–9 mm long of which the basal tube 1.5–2.5 mm, finely puberulous or sparsely so and with dense stalked capitate glands; lobes linear-lanceolate, cuspidate, 4–6.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla bright orange, finely puberulous and with dense stalked capitate glands; cylindric tube 3–4 cm long; throat 1–2 mm long; lobes obovate, 8–11 × 6–8 mm, truncate and irregularly toothed apically
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Filaments
Filaments 4–5 mm long, puberulous; anthers 1.5–2 mm long, connective with hairs and subsessile glands
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule 10–12 mm long; stipe ± 5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed 4–5 mm in diameter.
Ecology
Dense evergreen lowland and lower montane forest, often along tracks and in clearings, secondary forest; 850–1150 m
Distribution
Range: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo (Kinshasa), Sudan, Ethiopia Flora districts: U1 U2
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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 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 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