Acanthaceae
Crossandra

Crossandra pyrophila Vollesen

First published in Kew Bull. 45: 132 (1990)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Malawi to Central Mozambique. It is a perennial or rhizomatous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

J. R. Timberlake, E. S. Martins (2013). Flora Zambesiaca, Vol 8 (5) Acanthaceae Part 1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Type
Malawi, Ntcheu Dist., Mphepo Zinai, 23.xi.1967, Salubeni 901 (K holotype, BR, LISC, MAL, SRGH).
Morphology General Habit
Pyrophytic herb from a creeping woody rootstock; stems usually unbranched, to 25 cm tall, puberulous to pubescent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, puberulous on veins, glabrous on lamina, sessile; lamina elliptic to obovate, largest (3)6–13 × (1.3)2–4.5 cm; apex subacute to broadly rounded or retuse
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Spike 2–5 cm long; peduncle 1–9 cm long, pubescent or sericeous-pubescent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Fertile bracts herbaceous, elliptic or obovate to subcircular, 13–22 × 7–13 mm, puberulous to pubescent or sparsely so, not ciliate, terminating in a triangular tip with a straight mucro up to 0.5 mm long, each side with 6–10 spreading lanceolate to triangular, acute to acuminate teeth 1–6 mm long, larger often with a lateral tooth, upper pair of teeth usually overtopping tip, with 3 strong longitudinal veins and 2 weaker submarginal giving off veins to major teeth
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracteoles
Bracteoles 9–15 mm long, puberulous to pubescent, not ciliate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals cuspidate, pubescent at tip, sparsely so along midrib, not ciliate, dorsal broadly ovate-elliptic, 8–10 mm long, ventral ovate-elliptic, 9–12 mm long, lateral 8–11 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla primrose-yellow to deep orange; tube 13–19 mm long, straight; limb 14–18 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style hairy at base
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule (immature) c.12 mm long, hairy at tip
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds not seen.
Distribution
Malawi, Mozambique. Not known elsewhere.
Ecology
Fireswept Brachystegia woodland; 500–1000 m.
Conservation
Endemic to S Malawi and C Mozambique; not threatened.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0