Acanthaceae
Crossandra

Crossandra horrida Vollesen

First published in Kew Bull. 45: 128 (1990)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is N. Somalia. It is a subshrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

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

Type
N2, “Guraheis”, 11º01´N, 48º53´E, Newbould 1000 (K holo.)
Morphology General Habit
Shrublet, up to 30 cm tall; young branches finely pubescent Branched axillary spines present, apparently mainly consisting of the long sterile basal bracts from modified lateral inflorescences
Morphology Leaves
Leaves seemingly in whorls of 4, subglabrous to minutely pubescent, subsessile; blade oblong-elliptic to slightly obovate, 1.5–5 x 0.5–1.3 cm, acute and mucronate at the apex or obtuse, thick and with lateral veins almost invisible
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Spikes 2–6 cm long, practically sessile; bracts leathery, the sterile ones deeply divided into 3–5 c. 1–4 cm long spines, the upper fertile ones obovate, 22–28 x 5–7 mm including 5–10 mm long pungent tip, and with 2–4 lateral spines, pilose with glandular and eglandular hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla yellow; tube 10–15 mm long; limb 8–13 mm long.
Distribution
N2, 3 not known elsewhere.
Ecology
Altitude range 900–1650 m.
[FSOM]

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]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • 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