Leonotis (Lion's-Ear) | |
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Leonotis nepetifolia | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lamiaceae |
Subfamily: | Lamioideae |
Genus: | Leonotis ( C.H. Persoon) R.Br. |
Type species | |
Leonotis ocymifolia ( Burman f.) Iwarsson |
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Species | |
See text. |
Leonotis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. [1] It comprises 9 species. One of these, Leonotis nepetifolia, is native to tropical Africa and southern India. It is naturalized throughout most of the tropics. The other 8 species are endemic to southern Africa. [2]
Leonotis was named by Robert Brown in 1810 in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. [3] The name means "lion's ear".
The type for the genus is the specimen of Leonotis ocymifolia that was originally described as Leonotis leonitis. [4] It is a specimen of Leonotis ocymifolia var. ocymifolia.[2]
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Below is a list of names published in Leonotis. Most of them are obsolete, illegitimate, or synonymous with other names. The species recognized by Iwarsson and Harvey are marked with a number sign.
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Leonotis is a member of the subfamily Lamioideae. [1] Leonotis might be paraphyletic or even polyphyletic because Leonotis leonurus is not closely related to the other species. [5] In 2009, it was shown that Leonotis and 3 other genera are embedded in Leucas, [5] a genus of about 100 species. [1] If the 4 embedded genera were merged with Leucas, the expanded Leucas would have about 132 species.