Aphelandra

Foodplant / feeds on
Phytonemus pallidus feeds on live Aphelandra

Aphelandra acremis Lindau

Aphelandra acrensis Lindau, Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 6:196. 1914.

Decumbent herb, 10–20 cm high, the roots horizontal; stem almost absent or extremely short; leaves numerous from base; leaf blades elliptic, 5–9 cm long and 3.5–5.5 cm wide, slightly acuminate, cordate at base, loosely hirsute, yellowish green towards middle, the margins obscurely green, entire; petioles 3–9 cm long, hirsute-pubescent; flowers in a solitary, terminal, short, dense spike arising at the base of the plant, the peduncle 6–8 cm long, the rachis hirsute; bracts imbricate, ovate, 13 mm long and 5 mm wide, acute, the tip obtuse, narrowed at base, hirsute, 3-nerved, entire; bractlets lanceolate, 6 mm long and 1 mm wide, similar to the bracts; calyx segments puberulent, connate at apex, the lateral segments 4 mm long and 1.3 mm wide, the remaining segments 5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide; corolla white or rose, violet-spotted, 2.8 cm long, puberulent without, the tube 22 mm long, basally 2.5 mm broad, narrowed to 2 mm at middle, about 5 mm broad at mouth, the upper lip sinuate, 6 mm long and 8 mm wide, the lower lip 3-lobed, the lobes subequal, about 7 mm long and 4 mm wide; filaments 6 mm long, glabrous; anthers apically long-mucronate; pollen grains typical, 42μ–46μ long, 23μ–27μ in diameter; ovary 2 mm high, puberulous; style 20 mm long, sparingly pilose; capsule glabrous, 8 mm long, 2 mm wide; mature seeds not seen.

TYPE.—Ule 9833 (syntype B, destroyed, F photo 8696, 18415), Brazil, Acre, Río Acre in forest near Porto Carlos, with flowers and capsules, Feb 1911; Ule 9834 (syntype B, destroyed, isotype K), Brazil Acre, S. Francisco near Seringal, with flowers, Sep 1911.

DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from around the type-locality of Amazonian Brazil and Peru. PERU. HUÁNUCO: Huánuco: Tingo María, 31 Jul 1940, Asplund 12651 (S); Supte, near Tingo María, 28 Aug 1940, Asplund 13372 (S); 10 km down stream from Tingo María, 630 m alt, Stork & Horton 9530 (F, K, NA, UC).

Aphelandra acrensis, according to Lindau, is closely related to A. phrynioides, but A. phrynioides is much larger and has much longer and extremely narrowed leaves, denser inflorescences and longer bracts.

Aphelandra sulphnrea Hooker

Aphelandra sulphurea Hooker, Bot. Mag. 98, t. 5951. 1872.

Aphetandra herthae Mildbraed. Notizbl. Bot. Gard. Berlin 14:40. 1938.

Erect herb to 40 cm high; stems stout, glabrous, terete, sparingly branched; leaf blades broadly elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 15–23 cm long and 7–10 cm wide, abruptly acuminate, cuneate at base, the margins subentire or shallowly repand, the lateral nerves (12–14 pairs) inserted at a rather open angle on the broad, flat costa, at first suberect, then becoming curved as ascending toward the margin, the upper surface bright green and glossy, the lower surface much paler green, sometimes violet-purple, both surfaces glabrous; petioles short, firm, 1.2–2 cm long; flowers borne in a solitary, terminal, subsessile spike to 21 cm long and 15 mm wide (without corollas), surrounded at base by 2 small sessile, appressed leaves, these shorter than the bracts; bracts imbricate, green, elliptic-oblong, 30–32 mm long, 8.5–10 mm wide, acute, the veins prominent, the nerves excurrent, denticulate and covered with small inconspicuous subsessile glands; bractlets lance-subulate, 4–5 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, subhyaline, the margins ciliolate; calyx segments chaffy, oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, puberulous, distinctly callose at base, the posterior segment 11 mm long, 2.25 mm wide, apically irregularly 2- or 3-toothed, the remaining segments subequal, the anterior pair 10.5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, longacuminate, the lateral pair 1 mm wide, otherwise similar to the anterior pair; corolla yellow, puberulent without, the tube 4 cm long, narrowly tubular, erect, scarcely enlarged, about 4 mm wide at base, 5 mm wide at mouth, the upper lip erect, about 2 cm long, cymbiform-complicate, about 1 cm wide, subacuate, the lower lip spreading with three nearly equal lobes, the middle lobe 2 cm long, 1 cm wide, apically obtuse, the lateral lobes similar, about 17 mm long and 6 mm wide; anthers nearly 5 mm long; filaments provided with long slender hairs on one side; ovary about 4 mm long, scarcely 1 mm thick, apically acute and minutely pubescent; style glabrous, long-attenuate; mature capsule not seen.

TYPE.—Hort Veitch (holotype K ?); typification is on the basis of the description and plate, especially the latter.

DISTRIBUTION.—Originally, this species was supposedly introduced by Messr. Veitch from Guayaquil, Ecuador. More recently, however, it has been collected in eastern Ecuador in the provinces of Napo-Pastaza and Zamora-Chinchepe. ECUADOR. NAPO-PASTAZA: Mera, 21 Apr 1940, Lugo 218 (S); 2 km N of Shell-Mera, 1050 m alt, 6 Tun 1968, Holm-Nielsen & Jeppesen 349 (AAU, US); Cerro Antisana, Talag near Río Napo, 600 m alt, 7 Dec 1960, Grubb, Lloyd, Pennington, & Whitmore 148 (K, NY). ZAMORA-CHINCHEPE: Patuca, 600 m alt, 13 Jun 1947, Harling 1142 (S).

The type of A. herthae was deposited in the Berlin herbarium. As far as I could ascertain, no duplicate specimens of the Hertha Schultze-Rhonhof collections were distributed. From the descriptions, A. herthae should be a synonym of A. sulphurea.

Aphelandra tnicans Moritz ex Vatke

Aphelandra micans MOrtíz ex Vatke, Ind. Sem. Hort. Berol. App. 1. 1876.—Leonard, Field Mus. Bot. Ser., 18:1195. 1938.

Shrubs, to 2 m high; the stems strigose; leaf blades oblong-ovate to oblong-elliptic, to 35 cm long and 15 cm wide, acuminate to obtuse, narrowed at the base, thin, entire, sparingly appressedpilosulous; petioles slender, to 4 cm long; spikes terminal, solitary or several in a cluster, rigid, to 25 cm long, 1–2 cm in diameter, the rachis white-cottony-tomentose; bracts closely imbricate, entire, about 12 mm long and 10 mm wide, firm, ovate, obtuse, glabrous, or minutely ciliolate toward the tip, rather strongly nerved, bearing dorsally a pair of oval, glandular-alveolate spots about 3 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, the costa and the 2 lateral nerves predominant; bractlets linear, 12 mm long and 2 mm wide, carinate, striate, the keel tomentose; calyx segments oblong, 17–18 mm long, 3–5 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous, striate; corolla red to orange-red, 6.5–7 cm long, the upper lip erect, about 15 mm long, arching and acuminate at the tip, the lower lip 3-lobed, spreading, the middle lobe ovate, 2 cm long and about 9 mm wide, acuminate, the lateral lobes about 5 mm long, rounded at tip, their upper edge adnate to the upper lip; capsule about 2 cm long, glabrous, puncticulate; seeds flat, brown, about 5 mm long and 4 mm wide, glabrous.

TYPE.—Moritz 1723 (holotype B, destroyed, F photo 8711, isotypes FI, K, P, W), Venezuela, Aragua, Colonia Tovar, Jan 1852.

DISTRIBUTION.—Northern Venezuela at elevations between 240–1600 meters. VENEZUELA. FEDERAL DISTRICT: Hacienda Puerto La Cruz, Coastal Range, 0–2300 m alt, 28 Aug–4 Sep 1918, Pittier 8072 (US). ARAGUA: Tovar, Vogel 1476 (W); Colonia Tovar, Karsten s.n. (W); Parque Nacional “H. Pittier,” on Pico Periquito, 1250–1600 m alt, 4 Sep 1960, Steyermark & Agostini 3 (VEN, US); Parque Nacional “H. Pittier,” along trail of Cerro Guacamayo, 4 Sep 1960, Steyermark & Agostini 23 (VEN, US); forest of Rancho Grande, 1000 m alt. N side, 29 Jul 1937, Pittier 14090 (F, US, VEN); Parque Nacional, between Rancho Grande and Maracay, 240–455 m alt, 9 Dec 1943, Steyermark 54962 (US); Parque Nacional, El Paraíso (Cerro Periquito), 1300 m alt, Aug 1947, Pittier 15.535 (US, VEN); El Portachuelo, road from Maracay to Ocumare, 1100 m alt, 8 May 1925, Pittier 11825 (US, VEN); El Portachuelo, 1100 m alt, Williams 10516 (US, VEN); Forest of Rancho Grande, Parque Nacional, 1000 m alt, Nov 1938, Alston 120 (VEN); Rancho Grande, 1060 m alt, 16 Apr 1951, Garcia 13 (VEN); Colonia Tovar, 2000 m alt, Engels s.n. (LE). CARABOBO: Hacienda de Cura, near San Joaquín, 480–1200 m alt, 15 Aug 1918, Pittier 8027 (US).

Aphelandra is a genus of about 170 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas.

They are evergreen shrubs growing to 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) tall, with opposite, simple leaves 5–30 cm (2–12 in) long, often with white veins. The flowers are produced in dense spikes, with brightly coloured bracts.

Several species are grown as houseplants for their patterned leaves and brightly coloured inflorescences.