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  1. Family: Rubiaceae Juss.
    1. Genus: Pentas Benth.

      1. Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers

        This species is accepted, and its native range is Ethiopia to Mozambique, Comoros, Arabian Peninsula.

    [FTEA]

    Rubiaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1976

    Habit
    Herb or subshrub with erect or straggling mostly woody stems 0.5–1.3 m. tall, hairy.
    Leaves
    Leaf-blades ovate, lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, 3–13 cm. long, 1–6 cm. wide, acute at the apex, cuneate at the base, pubescent to densely velvety on both surfaces; petioles 0–5 cm. long; stipules with 3–9(–14) setae, 2–9 mm. long, bearing small colleters, from a short base.
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence with terminal and axillary components combined into a single cluster.
    Calyx
    Calyx-tube hairy, 1–3 mm. long, 1.5–2.5 mm. wide; lobes very unequal, the largest lanceolate, 0.5–1.3 cm. long, 0.5–3 mm. wide, the smallest 1–3 mm. long.
    Flowers
    Flowers often trimorphic, either with style exserted and anthers included, anthers exserted and style included or both included. Flowers with both style and stigma and anthers included:tube 2–4 cm. long; lobes ovate-oblong 0.5–1.1 cm. long, 2.5–3.3 mm. wide; anthers sometimes with tips exserted 0.25 mm. but usually included; style and stigma always included. Short-styled flowers very similar, corolla-lobes 4.5–8 mm. long; anthers exserted 2.5–4 mm.; style and stigma usually completely enclosed or rarely tips of stigma-lobes exserted 2.5 mm. Long-styled flowers:corolla-tube (1–)2.3–3.9 cm. long, dilated at the apex to 3(–6) mm. wide for a distance of 4–8 mm., hairy or glabrous outside; lobes oblong-ovate to elliptic, 0.3–1 cm. long, (1–)1.5–4.5 mm. wide; throat hairy within; anthers completely included; style exserted 1.5–5.5 mm.; stigma 2–5 mm. long.
    Long-styled
    Long-styled flowers:corolla-tube (1–)2.3–3.9 cm. long, dilated at the apex to 3(–6) mm. wide for a distance of 4–8 mm., hairy or glabrous outside; lobes oblong-ovate to elliptic, 0.3–1 cm. long, (1–)1.5–4.5 mm. wide; throat hairy within; anthers completely included; style exserted 1.5–5.5 mm.; stigma 2–5 mm. long.
    Short-styled
    Short-styled flowers very similar, corolla-lobes 4.5–8 mm. long; anthers exserted 2.5–4 mm.; style and stigma usually completely enclosed or rarely tips of stigma-lobes exserted 2.5 mm.
    Fruits
    Fruit obtriangular, 4–6 mm. tall and wide; beak 1–2 mm. tall.
    [FZ]

    Rubiaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora Zambesiaca 5:1. 1989

    Habit
    Herb or subshrub with erect or straggling mostly woody stems 0.5–1.3 m. tall, hairy.
    Leaves
    Leaf blades 3–13 x 1–6 cm., ovate, lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, acute at the apex, cuneate at the base, pubescent to densely velvety on both surfaces; petioles 0.5 cm. long; stipules with 3–9(14) setae, 2–9 mm. long, bearing small colleters, from a short base.
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence with terminal and axillary components combined into a single cluster.
    Calyx
    Calyx tube hairy, 1–3 x 1.5–2.5 mm. lobes very unequal, the largest 0.5–1.3 cm. x 0.5–3 mm., lanceolate, the smallest 1–3 mm. long.
    Long-styled
    Long-styled flowers: corolla tube (1 )2.3–4 cm. long, dilated at the apex to 3(6) mm. wide for a distance of 4–8 mm., hairy or glabrous outside; lobes 0.3–1 cm. x (1)1.5–4.5 mm., oblong-ovate to elliptic; throat hairy within; anthers completely included; style exserted 1.5–5.5 mm.; stigma 2–5 mm. long.
    Short-styled
    Short-styled flowers very similar; corolla lobes 4.5–8 mm. long; anthers exserted 2.5–4 mm.; style and stigma usually completely enclosed or rarely tips of stigma lobes exserted 2.5 mm.
    Flowers
    Flowers with both style and stigma and anthers included; tube 2–4 cm. long; lobes 0.5–1.1 cm. x 2.5–3.3 mm., ovate-oblong; anthers sometimes with tips exserted 0.25 mm. but usually included; style and stigma always included. Flowers often trimorphic, either with style exserted and anthers included, anthers exserted and style included or both included. Short-styled flowers very similar; corolla lobes 4.5–8 mm. long; anthers exserted 2.5–4 mm.; style and stigma usually completely enclosed or rarely tips of stigma lobes exserted 2.5 mm. Long-styled flowers: corolla tube (1 )2.3–4 cm. long, dilated at the apex to 3(6) mm. wide for a distance of 4–8 mm., hairy or glabrous outside; lobes 0.3–1 cm. x (1)1.5–4.5 mm., oblong-ovate to elliptic; throat hairy within; anthers completely included; style exserted 1.5–5.5 mm.; stigma 2–5 mm. long.
    Fruits
    Fruit 4–6 mm. tall and wide, obtriangular; beak 1–2 mm. tall.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zaïre

    Introduced into:

    Colombia, Cook Is., Norfolk Is., Society Is., Trinidad-Tobago, Windward Is.

    Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Nov 27, 1951 Schweinfurth, G. [1310], Yemen K000760236 Unknown type material
    Milne-Redhead, E. [7207], Tanzania 28491.000

    First published in Voy. Yemen: 142 (1889)

    Accepted by

    • Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots' Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.
    • Sykes, W.R. (2016). Flora of the Cook Islands: 1-973. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii.
    • Wu, Z., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D. (eds.) (2011). Flora of China 19: 1-884. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
    • Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., Ortiz, R.D.C., Callejas Posada, R. & Merello, M. (eds.) (2011). Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 1-939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín.
    • Delprete, P.G. (2010). Rubiaceae Flora dos estados de Goiás e Tocantins 40: 1-1610. Universidade Federal de Goiás.
    • Delprete, P.G. & Cortés-B., R. (2006 publ. 2007). A synopsis of the Rubiaceae of the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, with a key to genera, and a preliminary species list Revista de Biologia Neotropical 3: 13-96.
    • Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo, ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.
    • Calane da Silva, M., Izdine, S. & Amuse, A.B. (2004). A Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Mozambique: 1-184. SABONET, Pretoria.
    • Mendoza, H., Ramirez P., B.R. & Jimenez, L.C. (2004). Rubiaceae de Colombia: guia ilustrada de generos: 1-351. Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogota, Colombia.
    • Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Welsh, S.L. (1998). Flora Societensis: 1-420. E.P.S. Inc. Utah.
    • Orchard, A.E. (ed.) (1994). Oceanic Islands 1 Flora of Australia 49: 1-681. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
    • Smith, A.C. (1988). Flora Vitiensis Nova. A new flora for Fiji (Spermatophytes only) 4: 1-377. Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai.
    • Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.

    Literature

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    • Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots' Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.
    • Sykes, W.R. (2016). Flora of the Cook Islands: 1-973. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii.
    • Calane da Silva, M., Izdine, S. & Amuse, A.B. (2004). A Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Mozambique: 1-184. SABONET, Pretoria.
    • Mendoza, H., Ramirez P., B.R. & Jimenez, L.C. (2004). Rubiaceae de Colombia: guia ilustrada de generos: 1-351. Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogota, Colombia.
    • Welsh, S.L. (1998). Flora Societensis: 1-420. E.P.S. Inc. Utah.
    • Orchard, A.E. (ed.) (1994). Oceanic Islands 1 Flora of Australia 49: 1-681. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • A.D.Q. Agnew, Upland Kenya Wild Flowers p. 404, fig. (1974).
    • E. Lind & A. Tallantire, Some Common Flowering Plants of Uganda, ed. 2: 160, fig. 103 (1972).
    • Verdc. in Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de l'État a Bruxelles 23: 339, fig. 35/D, G (1953).
    • Verdc. in Kew Bulletin 6: 377 (1951)
    • Deflers, Voy. Yemen: 142 (1889).

    Sources

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

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    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 Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0