Aneilema

Aneilema is a genus of monocotyledonous plants of approximately 60 species. 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. 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.
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.
Species
Aneilema acuminatum R.Br. - New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, Queensland, New South Wales
Aneilema aequinoctiale - tropical + southern Africa
Aneilema alatum Koord. - Java
Aneilema angolense C.B.Clarke - Angola
Aneilema aparine H.Perrier - Madagascar
Aneilema arenicola Faden - KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique
Aneilema benadirense Chiov. - Somalia
Aneilema beniniense (P.Beauv.) Kunth - tropical Africa
Aneilema biflorum - Queensland, New South Wales
Aneilema brasiliense C.B.Clarke - Brazil, Venezuela
Aneilema brenanianum Faden - Kenya, Tanzania
Aneilema brunneospermum Faden - Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa
Aneilema calceolus Brenan - Kenya, Tanzania
Aneilema chrysopogon Brenan - Zambia, Tanzania
Aneilema clarkei Rendle - Kenya, Tanzania
Aneilema dispermum Brenan - Malawi, Tanzania
Aneilema dregeanum Kunth - Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa; naturalized in Vietnam
Aneilema ephemerum Faden - Kenya
Aneilema forsskalii Kunth - Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia
Aneilema gillettii Brenan - Ethiopia, Kenya
Aneilema grandibracteolatum Faden - Ethiopia
Aneilema hirtum A.Rich. - eastern Africa from Ethiopia to Zambia
Aneilema hockii De Wild - eastern + southern Africa
Aneilema homblei De Wild - DRC
Aneilema indehiscens Faden - eastern + southern Africa
Aneilema johnstonii K.Schum. - eastern + southern Africa
Aneilema lamuense Faden - Kenya, Somalia
Aneilema lanceolatum Benth. - tropical Africa
Aneilema leiocaule K.Schum. - eastern + central Africa
Aneilema longicapsa Faden - Somalia
Aneilema longirrhizum Faden - Northern Province of South Africa
Aneilema macrorrhizum T.C.E.Fr. - Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia
Aneilema minutiflorum Faden - Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Aneilema mortonii Brenan - Ghana, Togo
Aneilema neocaledonicum Schltr. - Vanuatu, New Caledonia
Aneilema nicholsonii C.B.Clarke - eastern + southern Africa
Aneilema nyasense C.B.Clarke - southeastern Africa
Aneilema obbiadense Chiov. - Somalia
Aneilema paludosum A.Chev. - western Africa
Aneilema pedunculosum C.B.Clarke - southeastern Africa
Aneilema petersii (Hassk.) C.B.Clarke - eastern + southeastern Africa
Aneilema plagiocapsa K.Schum. - DRC, Zambia, Angola
Aneilema pomeridianum Stanf. & Brenan - Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Benin, Ghana
Aneilema pusillum Chiov. - Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia
Aneilema recurvatum Faden - Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania
Aneilema rendlei C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania
Aneilema richardsiae Brenan - DRC, Zambia, Tanzania
Aneilema schlechteri K.Schum. - Zimbabwe, Transvaal, Eswatini
Aneilema sclerocarpum F.Muell. - Queensland
Aneilema sebitense Faden - Kenya, Ethiopia
Aneilema setiferum A.Chev. - western Africa
Aneilema siliculosum R.Br. - Queensland, Northern Territory
Aneilema silvaticum - Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon, Bioko, Zaïre
Aneilema somaliense C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia
Aneilema spekei C.B.Clarke - eastern Africa
Aneilema succulentum Faden - Kenya
Aneilema tanaense Faden - Kwale District of Kenya
Aneilema taylorii C.B.Clarke - Kenya, Tanzania
Aneilema termitarium Faden - Zaïre, Zambia, Tanzania
Aneilema trispermum Faden - Somalia
Aneilema umbrosum (Vahl) Kunth - tropical Africa; tropical South America, Trinidad, Costa Rica, Panama
Aneilema usambarense Faden - Usambara Mountains of Tanzania
Aneilema welwitschii C.B.Clarke - central + southern Africa
Aneilema woodii Faden - Yemen
Aneilema zebrinum Chiov. ex Chiarugi - - Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, KwaZulu-Natal
References
External links
Commelinales genera
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot