- Family:
- Acanthaceae Juss.
Stenostephanus Nees

[KBu]
Wood, J.R.I. Stenostephanus (Acanthaceae) in Peru. Kew Bulletin 74: 64 doi:10.1007/s12225-019-9843-0
- Distribution
- Stenostephanus Nees is an entirely neotropical genus of around 80 species. It is distributed along mountains from south central Mexico through Central America and then along the Andes from Venezuela south to the Santa Cruz region in central Bolivia. A single species, S. lobeliiformis Nees occurs in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. The greatest diversity is found in Colombia from where 29 species are known (Wood 2009, 2016). There are accounts of the genus in Bolivia (Wasshausen 1999a; Wasshausen & Wood 2004), in Ecuador (Wasshausen 2013) and in Colombia (Wood 1988, 2009) but no account of the genus has ever been published for Peru.
- Ecology
- Stenostephanus is a characteristic cloud forest species with a few species occurring in lower altitude rain forest but, apart from S. longistamineus, always on or near mountainous regions. Most species are very local endemics, often known from a single locality or with a very restricted range. Many appear to flower irregularly, perhaps in response to particular climatic conditions. One Mexican species is confirmed to be plietesial (Daniel 2006) but it is quite probable that other species are also plietesial. Species with a tubular red flower (the majority of species in Peru) are presumably hummingbird-pollinated but very little reliable information is known about the pollination of these plants. Species with strongly 2-lipped corollas tend to occur at higher altitudes (1500 – 2500 m) than those with a subcylindical corolla.
- Morphology General Cystoliths
- Cystoliths are present, particularly on the leaves but sometimes also on other vegetative parts
- Morphology General Habit
- Stenostephanus species are herbs or weak subshrubs with decumbent, ascending or erect stems up to about 3 m in height
- Morphology General Indumentum
- The whole inflorescence may be glabrous or glandular-hairy, the glandular hairs often developing as the inflorescence matures
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves are entire to undulate, usually equal to slightly unequal in each pair but strongly anisophyllous plants are apparently unknown
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
- The androecium consists of two, usually exserted stamens, inserted above the basal part of the corolla tube, each stamen with a monothecous anther
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
- The calyx is divided to near the base into five equal, usually narrowly lanceolate lobes, these somewhat accrescent in fruit
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- The corolla may be tubular, ± suburceolate with four short lobes, or more or less 2-lipped with a simple upper lip and a 3-lobed, often spreading lower lip In colour, the corolla may be blue, yellow, red, purple, pink or bicoloured
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium
- The gynoecium consists of a narrowly oblong ovary and single style with a very small stigma
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollen
- The pollen is of a characteristic shape resembling an aeroplane wheel
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- The fruit is an oblong 4-seeded, stipitate capsule, the seeds discoid or lenticular, often tuberculate.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- The inflorescence is commonly a terminal thyrse but small cymes or thyrses may arise in the upper leaf axils
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
- Prominent bracts may be present at the base of the thyrse but diminish in size upwards at each branching point
- Morphology Stem
- Stems are often swollen at the nodes
- Note
- In morphology, pollen and ecology, Stenostephanus is very similar to the African genus, Brachystephanus Nees and it is difficult to see how the two genera can be consistently distinguished. Champluvier & Darbyshire (2009) compared the two genera in some detail but decided that no attempt to unite them should be made before further molecular studies were made. Stenostephanus is the older name so there is no threat to the nomenclatural stability of the neotropical species.
Native to:
Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Southeast, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Venezuela
- Stenostephanus aglaus (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus alushii T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus ampelinus (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus anderssonii Wassh.
- Stenostephanus antiquorum J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus asplundii (Wassh.) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus atrocalyx J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus atropurpureus (Lindau) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus azureus (D.N.Gibson) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus blepharorhachis (Lindau) T.F.Daniel ex Hammel
- Stenostephanus breedlovei T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus charien (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus charitopes (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus chavesii Hammel
- Stenostephanus chiapensis T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus citrinus (D.N.Gibson) McDade & Hammel
- Stenostephanus clarkii Wassh.
- Stenostephanus cleefii (Wassh.) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus cochabambensis Wassh.
- Stenostephanus crenulatus (Britton ex Rusby) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus cuatrecasasii (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus cuscoensis J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus cyaneus (Lindau) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus davidsonii Wassh.
- Stenostephanus densiflorus J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus diversicolor (Lindau) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus enarthrocoma (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus florifer (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus glaber (Leonard) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus gracilis (Oerst.) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus guerrerensis T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus haematodes (Schltdl.) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus harleyi (Wassh.) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus hispidulus (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus holm-nielsenii Wassh.
- Stenostephanus hondurensis T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus jamesonii (Wassh.) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus kirkbridei (Wassh.) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus krukoffii Wassh.
- Stenostephanus lamprus (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus lasiostachyus Nees
- Stenostephanus latifolius (Wassh.) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus latilabris (D.N.Gibson) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus laxus (Wassh.) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus leiorhachis (Lindau) Hammel
- Stenostephanus leonardianus (J.R.I.Wood) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus lobeliiformis Nees
- Stenostephanus longistaminus (Ruiz & Pav.) V.M.Baum
- Stenostephanus lugonis (Wassh.) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus luteynii (Wassh.) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus lyman-smithii Wassh.
- Stenostephanus macrochilus (Lindau) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus macrolobus (Lindau) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus madidiensis J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus madrensis T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus magdalenensis (Wassh.) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus maximus (J.R.I.Wood) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus monolophus (Donn.Sm.) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus oaxacanus T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus pilosus (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus puberulus Lindau
- Stenostephanus purpusii (Brandegee) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus putumayensis (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus pycnostachys (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus pyramidalis (Lindau) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus racemosus (J.R.I.Wood) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus reflexiflorus (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus ruberrimus (D.N.Gibson) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus sanguineus (Nees) Wassh.
- Stenostephanus scolnikae (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus sehuencasii J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus sessilifolius (Oerst.) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus silvaticus (Nees) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus spicatus Wassh. & J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus sprucei (Lindau) Wassh. & J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus strictus (Leonard) T.F.Daniel ex Hammel
- Stenostephanus suburceolatus J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus syscius (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus tacanensis (Acosta & R.Fernández) T.F.Daniel
- Stenostephanus tachirensis (Wassh.) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus tenellus Wassh. & J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus ventricosus (Donn.Sm.) T.F.Daniel ex Hammel & McDade
- Stenostephanus villosus (Gómez-Laur. & Hammel) McDade
- Stenostephanus wallnoeferi Wassh.
- Stenostephanus wasshausenii J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus wilburii (McDade) McDade
- Stenostephanus xanthothrix (Leonard) J.R.I.Wood
- Stenostephanus zuliensis (Wassh.) J.R.I.Wood
Stenostephanus Nees appears in other Kew resources:
Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status | Has image? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 1, 2013 | Prance, G.T. [8941], Brazil | K001032992 | Yes |
First published in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 9: 91 (1847)
Accepted by
- Wood, J.R.I. (2009). New names, combinations and synonyms in Justicia and Stenostephanus Kew Bulletin 64: 49-55. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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