Aneilema

Aneilema
Aneilema aequinoctiale flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Commelinales
Family:	Commelinaceae
Subfamily:	Commelinoideae
Tribe:	Commelineae
Genus:	Aneilema R.Br.
Type species
A. biflorum R.Br.
Synonyms[1]
Lamprodithyros Hassk. Bauschia Seub. ex Warm. Amelina C.B.Clarke Phaeneilema G.Brückn. Ballya Brenan

Aneilema is a genus of monocotyledonous plants of approximately 60 species.^[2] The vast majority of the species are native to sub-Saharan Africa, but a few are found in Oceania and one, Aneilema brasiliense, is from South America.^[1] It is the third largest genus in the family Commelinaceae after Commelina and Tradescantia, and it is one of only six genera in the family to occur in both the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.^[2]

Aneilema consists of herbs that may be either perennial or annual. They are characterised by their zygomorphic flowers which, unlike the closely related genus Commelina, usually lack a modified leaf enclosing the flower stalk at maturity. The uppermost leaf on the flowering stalk is often highly modified, however, and in a few species, such as Aneilema clarkei, the upper leaf does completely surround the inflorescence. The flowering stalks of Aneilema tend to be much larger than those of Commelina, with some species having inflorescences of more than 25 cm in length, although some are as short as 2 cm.^[2]

Species^[1]

1. Aneilema acuminatum R.Br. - New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, Queensland, New South Wales
2. Aneilema aequinoctiale P.Beauv. - tropical + southern Africa
3. Aneilema alatum Koord. - Java
4. Aneilema angolense C.B.Clarke - Angola
5. Aneilema aparine H.Perrier - Madagascar
6. Aneilema arenicola Faden - KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique
7. Aneilema benadirense Chiov. - Somalia
8. Aneilema beniniense (P.Beauv.) Kunth - tropical Africa
9. Aneilema biflorum R.Br. - Queensland, New South Wales
10. Aneilema brasiliense C.B.Clarke - Brazil, Venezuela
11. Aneilema brenanianum Faden - Kenya, Tanzania
12. Aneilema brunneospermum Faden - Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa
13. Aneilema calceolus Brenan - Kenya, Tanzania
14. Aneilema chrysopogon Brenan - Zambia, Tanzania
15. Aneilema clarkei Rendle - Kenya, Tanzania
16. Aneilema dispermum Brenan - Malawi, Tanzania
17. Aneilema dregeanum Kunth - Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa; naturalized in Vietnam
18. Aneilema ephemerum Faden - Kenya
19. Aneilema forsskalii Kunth - Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia
20. Aneilema gillettii Brenan - Ethiopia, Kenya
21. Aneilema grandibracteolatum Faden - Ethiopia
22. Aneilema hirtum A.Rich. - eastern Africa from Ethiopia to Zambia
23. Aneilema hockii De Wild - eastern + southern Africa
24. Aneilema homblei De Wild - Zaïre
25. Aneilema indehiscens Faden - eastern + southern Africa
26. Aneilema johnstonii K.Schum. - eastern + southern Africa
27. Aneilema lamuense Faden - Kenya, Somalia
28. Aneilema lanceolatum Benth. - tropical Africa
29. Aneilema leiocaule K.Schum. - eastern + central Africa
30. Aneilema longicapsa Faden - Somalia
31. Aneilema longirrhizum Faden - Northern Province of South Africa
32. Aneilema macrorrhizum T.C.E.Fr. - Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia
33. Aneilema minutiflorum Faden - Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
34. Aneilema mortonii Brenan - Ghana, Togo
35. Aneilema neocaledonicum Schltr. - Vanuatu, New Caledonia
36. Aneilema nicholsonii C.B.Clarke - eastern + southern Africa
37. Aneilema nyasense C.B.Clarke - southeastern Africa
38. Aneilema obbiadense Chiov. - Somalia
39. Aneilema paludosum A.Chev. - western Africa
40. Aneilema pedunculosum C.B.Clarke - southeastern Africa
41. Aneilema petersii (Hassk.) C.B.Clarke - eastern + southeastern Africa
42. Aneilema plagiocapsa K.Schum. - Zaïre, Zambia, Angola
43. Aneilema pomeridianum Stanf. & Brenan - Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Benin, Ghana
44. Aneilema pusillum Chiov. - Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia
45. Aneilema recurvatum Faden - Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania
46. Aneilema rendlei C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania
47. Aneilema richardsiae Brenan - Zaïre, Zambia, Tanzania
48. Aneilema schlechteri K.Schum. - Zimbabwe, Transvaal, Swaziland
49. Aneilema sclerocarpum F.Muell. - Queensland
50. Aneilema sebitense Faden - Kenya, Ethiopia
51. Aneilema setiferum A.Chev. - western Africa
52. Aneilema siliculosum R.Br. - Queensland, Northern Territory
53. Aneilema silvaticum Brenan - Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon, Bioko, Zaïre
54. Aneilema somaliense C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia
55. Aneilema spekei C.B.Clarke - eastern Africa
56. Aneilema succulentum Faden - Kenya
57. Aneilema tanaense Faden - Kwale District of Kenya
58. Aneilema taylorii C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Tanzania
59. Aneilema termitarium Faden - Zaïre, Zambia, Tanzania
60. Aneilema trispermum Faden - Somalia
61. Aneilema umbrosum (Vahl) Kunth - tropical Africa; tropical South America, Trinidad, Costa Rica, Panama
62. Aneilema usambarense Faden - Usambara Mountains of Tanzania
63. Aneilema welwitschii C.B.Clarke - central + southern Africa
64. Aneilema woodii Faden - Yemen
65. Aneilema zebrinum Chiov. ex Chiarugi - - Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, KwaZulu-Natal

References

External links

• Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). [http://www.africanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?submitForm=true&page_id=77&searchTextMenue=Aneilema&filterRegionIDs[]=6&filterRegionIDs[]=1&filterRegionIDs[]=2&filterRegionIDs[]=3&filterRegionIDs[]=5 "Aneilema"]. African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aneilema.

Wikispecies has information related to: Aneilema