Plectranthus is a genus of about 85 species of flowering plants from the sage family, Lamiaceae, found mostly in southern and tropical Africa and Madagascar. Common names include spur-flower. Plectranthus species are herbaceous perennial plants, rarely annuals or soft-wooded shrubs, sometimes succulent; sometimes with a tuberous base. [2]
Several species are grown as ornamental plants. The cultivar Mona Lavender = 'Plepalila' [3] has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Recent phylogenetic analysis found Plectranthus to be paraphyletic with respect to Coleus, Solenostemon, Pycnostachys and Anisochilus. The most recent treatment of the genus resurrected the genus Coleus, and 212 names were changed from combinations in Plectranthus, Pycnostachys and Anisochilus. Equilabium was segregated from Plectranthus, after phylogenetic studies supported its recognition as a phylogenetically distinct genus.[2]
The word plectranthus derives from the Greek πλῆκτρον (plēktron), "anything to strike with, an instrument for striking the lyre, a spear point"[4] + ἄνθος (anthos), "blossom, flower".[5]
Paton et al. (2019) listed 72 species.[2] As of October 2022, Plants of the World Online accepted 84:
Species transferred to Coleus in 2019 include:[2]
Plectranthus is a genus of about 85 species of flowering plants from the sage family, Lamiaceae, found mostly in southern and tropical Africa and Madagascar. Common names include spur-flower. Plectranthus species are herbaceous perennial plants, rarely annuals or soft-wooded shrubs, sometimes succulent; sometimes with a tuberous base.
Several species are grown as ornamental plants. The cultivar Mona Lavender = 'Plepalila' has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Recent phylogenetic analysis found Plectranthus to be paraphyletic with respect to Coleus, Solenostemon, Pycnostachys and Anisochilus. The most recent treatment of the genus resurrected the genus Coleus, and 212 names were changed from combinations in Plectranthus, Pycnostachys and Anisochilus. Equilabium was segregated from Plectranthus, after phylogenetic studies supported its recognition as a phylogenetically distinct genus.
